Heart in a riot
by Scyllaya
Summary: The creatures of the Five Worlds rule everything. Humanity has fallen into slavery many years ago. Dean awaits his future in an auction house, where he unknowingly lands in a life where he may change the fate of humanity. Dean/Gabriel, NC-17
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Heart in a riot  
><strong>Author:<strong> **scyllaya**  
><strong>Artist:<strong> **cashay**  
><strong>Character(s)Pairing(s):** Gabriel/Dean, Castiel, Sam in later chapters  
><strong>Rating:<strong> NC-17  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> slavery, graphic sexual content [light dub-con (slavery), mild D/S (master-slave)], cursing, blood [graphic injury], mentions of violence  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> none, AU**  
>Summary:<strong> In a time where the creatures of the Five Worlds rule and control everything; humanity has fallen into slavery many years ago, with only a few willing to still fight for them. Dean Winchester awaits his seemingly grim future in an auction house, which is achingly similar to the one where his brother was torn away from him thirteen years ago. He doesn't realize how the second the hammer falls down, it's not only his fate that is sealed. He unknowingly lands in a life where he may have a chance to help change not just his own future, but the fate of humanity as well.**  
>Word Count:<strong> ~ 55 000  
><strong>Beta:<strong> **ptechyaperfect**  
><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Title from '30 Seconds to Mars' - Hurricane (yeah, sue me, I like this song, it fits the fic XD)

Fanart for this fic is available on my Livejournal, I have the same username as here, as in: scyllaya(.)livejournal(.)com

Written for the **gabriel_bigbang** 2012.

Enjoy!

(1) August

x-x-x

It was the fourth week, the fourth auction, the last chance. From all the slaves around him, he was the oldest, the tallest and the strongest, so in every way at a disadvantage. He may have had a handsome face, but he looked a lot more dangerous than all the 15-18 year old boys most creatures came to buy. He was twenty-nine and he had served as a guard for almost thirteen years for an old faun, so he was well-trained and masculine, and it showed. The only type of beings that came to the auction house to buy slaves like him, were not the type Dean wanted to belong to, not one bit. So he didn't have a choice, but it didn't mean he couldn't hope, right?

One thing he knew for sure: if nobody bought him this time around, he would be sold to one of the factories. One of the demons that brought food for all the slaves told him that the trader, Brady, never kept any human for more than four weeks. If he couldn't sell them to an individual buyer in that time, he was done trying and got rid of them. An average human didn't survive more than a year in those places and Dean really didn't want to end up dying in a dark hole from exhaustion. There was, of course, not a damn thing he could do about it.

The demon also told him that his chances didn't look good at all. Twenty-nine, as it turned out, was pretty "old" on the slave-market, since humans didn't live for more than 4-5 decades in average. So why would any being buy one that was almost thirty when there were slaves half his age at a decent price? So yeah, Dean wasn't even sure which possibility was worse, if he ended up with the type of owner he dreaded, or if he got sold to a factory. He would be dead pretty damn soon in both cases. It sucked; it sucked so hard that he had no words for it.

He wasn't able to decide whether he should try and look less intimidating for one last time so that maybe he would get lucky, or just give up already, look mean and accept that he was going to work himself to death, literally, very soon.

He was still undecided by the time the auction began. First his mind was racing, thinking over what to do, how to act over and over again, but then the quiet voices of the boys standing before him caught his attention. One was around sixteen maybe, the other a little younger. The younger one was practically shaking, scared, for good reasons actually, but the other one tried to calm him down, telling him again and again in a hushed tone that it would be alright, that he would look after him.

Dean tore his eyes away and tried to shove down the memories that threatened to surface. These two were brothers, Dean was sure of it, he recognized how brothers acted, but he knew the older one was lying, because there was nothing he could do to protect his little brother, nothing. Rarely were siblings lucky enough to be bought by the same being. Damn, he really didn't want to think about this, not now.

How he has given the same promise, how he couldn't keep it, had no chance to keep it. He shouted and yelled and screamed at everyone, but… even still, on some nights his mind tortured him by making him remember Sam's crying face, how he tried to hold on, but was taken away, bought right before Dean. Whoever was taking him, he didn't need two slaves even if the trader, still the nicest demon Dean has ever encountered, offered a discount if someone bought both of them. He hadn't seen Sam since, they probably wouldn't even recognize each other, it's been over thirteen years after all.

The auction was going and Dean was pulled to stand by the stairs, while the two brothers were taken out. It seemed like Brady wanted to give a try selling them together. Keeping them together would definitely make them a lot easier to handle. He still remembered how defiant and rebellious he was in the first year after he and Sam got separated. He wasn't disobedient for long thought, he wouldn't be alive then.

Dean tried to ignore the auction, but he couldn't help but hear what was going on. Seemed like the brothers were not lucky enough, it was expected. The beings were bidding on the younger one and Dean really did try to not look at them. The moment Brady declared him 'sold' and the hammer fell, the younger brother started shouting, clinging to his brother as one of the demon guards tried to take him away. The older one didn't let go and after a moment of struggle a second guard walked closer and hit the older brother, who went down without a fight.

Dean moved without a conscious thought, not thinking, there was only the blood rushing in his ears and his memories pulsing in his mind. He was by the two boys and the guards in three steps, moving swiftly. He pulled the first demon back, who was definitely not expecting the attack so went down easily enough when Dean twisted his arm and kicked his feet out from under him. The second guard, who was holding the younger boy's arm, had a baton in his hand, by the time he looked up Dean already grabbed him, turned the small rod out of his hand and hit him hard across the jaw. The demon stumbled and fell to the floor. He wouldn't stay down long. Dean turned the baton over in his hand and was in a protective stance a blink later. His mind only caught up with his body at this moment.

Well shit.

There was silence in the auction room for a long moment. As Dean's head cleared out, he glanced up at Brady's darkened face and dropped the baton, backing down, stepping away and lowering his gaze. He was in big trouble, also so much for trying to look less dangerous. The two demon guards got back on their feet of course, without the right weapon they couldn't really be harmed. Dean felt as pain shoot in his legs as someone hit the back of his knees and he fell to the floor. He didn't try to get up, stayed down on his knees. He wasn't sure he if would be killed right here on this very spot to be honest.

The boys were taken out, but Dean only saw it from the corner of his eye. What was he thinking? He didn't achieve anything, just got himself in trouble, stupid, so fucking stupid.

'Alright,' Brady clapped his hands, getting the room's attention back on himself. 'Someone was very eager to introduce himself early,' he remarked. 'Male, 29. Now I know what you think, why would you give out money for him, especially after what you just saw? Well, I say, you give out money, exactly because of what you just saw. Not everyday you see a human taking on two demons, huh? Strong, healthy, already well-trained guard, a little bit spirited, but I guarantee you, on my reputation, that he's an obedient one. Nowhere would you get a human like this with a better price, you can be sure of that.'

There were small murmurs in the room, but Dean didn't raise his head yet. It would probably make things worse.

'As per usual, I offer a discount because of the age, so… let's say, the put-up price is 8000 credits.'

Considering that Brady was selling the others for 15000-20000 credits, he really was a cheap one.

'7000?' Brady lowered the price. 'C'mon ladies and gentlemen, you cannot buy a slave for a better price anywhere… 6500 credits?'

'I'll take him for 4000,' came a voice. Dean raised his head and searched for the one who spoke. Demon, he was sure of that. He was a lot taller than the rest standing there. Dean felt how cold dread gripped his stomach, because those eyes didn't promise anything good. It was the coldest, cruelest pair of blue eyes Dean has ever seen. There was a smile on his face, a malicious, pleased smile. Dean didn't like the way he was looked at, not one bit.

Brady chuckled.

'Well, considering that you are my best customer, Alastair, for you only, I am willing to lower the price for 5500 credits, but that is my last offer.'

The demon considered the amount, and then nodded. Dean's mind was nothing but a litany of "no". He was very much willing to admit that he was afraid; this demon definitely did not need a guard. Whatever he wanted, it was not something Dean would like.

'Well then, if nobody else wants to bid,' Brady started looking around in the room. Dean never prayed in his life, he didn't even know who he was supposed to pray to. He swiftly looked around the crowd of demons and other creatures, his eyes probably betraying how he felt. Maybe someone, anyone would take him instead of this demon. Anyone. Oh please anyone but him.

'10000 credits,' a male voice interrupted. Everyone's head turned towards the higher seats up on the gallery in union. Dean looked up and only now did he notice how quickly he was breathing, how vehemently his pulse was beating. He didn't notice before that there were beings sitting up there too, but now his eyes were locked up there, searching for the owner of the voice.

Brady looked up too and he fell silent abruptly for a moment before he continued, but his voice was not as confident as a moment before when he started talking again.

'Yes sir! Of course, as you wish, he is yours,' he spoke quickly, bowing a little. Dean couldn't see who he was looking at properly with most of the lights directed at him. Not like it mattered, anyone had to be better than the demon who wanted him. Dean kept his eyes up on the gallery, trying to catch a glimpse of his new owner as he was pulled to his feet.

Dean was dragged out by the two demon guards and as soon as the reflector no longer shone in his eyes he finally managed to catch a proper glimpse of the gallery. He did not have time to look for long, but the pair of golden eyes that were staring right back at him seared into his brain the second he managed to lock his eyes on the man leaning on the handrail.

x-x-x

He was taken out to the front first, which was a bit strange since he was sold last, but he didn't think much of it. It was not Brady, but a different demon that remade his seal. One of the older slaves he knew back at his late master's house told him once that his seal meant what he was or who he was. He couldn't read the symbols and runes that made up the circle-like seal, but as far as he knew it had his name, birth date and his owner's name on it among other things. He also didn't know enough about magic to figure out how the beings changed something that looked like it was seared and painted right into the skin, but they could do it.

He bit back the hiss that wanted to escape his lips when the demon put his hand on his nape remaking his seal. It was over in a moment anyways. He heard that Brady was talking even before he was steered into the room.

'And there he is,' Brady said when Dean and the guard entered the room. Unlike before the auction he was shackled now, it was not surprising actually. Dean looked up and for the first time he found himself face-to-face with his new owner.

He was shorter than him, but Dean long learned that just because a being looked harmless, it did not mean that they were actually to be taken lightly. He had light brown hair that glinted golden in the light and Dean's eyes were not mistaken before, his eyes still looked amber or maybe even gold now that he saw him up close. His clothes were casual, dark trousers, shirt, and a light-colored jacket. He was not a demon, Dean could tell, which was a relief, but he also had no idea what he could've been. Brady looked cautious around him, so maybe a god or a fey. No way to tell.

Brady waved the guard closer, so naturally Dean was pulled along too. He realized that he's been staring way too long at his owner, so he quickly dropped his gaze, not wanting to seem challenging or prideful.

'I have already had his seal remade, you can check if you'd like,' the guard turned Dean around, clearly so that his seal could be seen. 'With that we are done, he is yours. If you happen to find yourself wanting to purchase more humans,' Brady continued without a beat. 'I have everything one could need, males, females, all age, any skin or hair color, whatever you may want. And what I don't have, I can definitely get in a matter of days, just a word your Grace, it'd be my pleasure to make sure you get exactly what you are looking for.'

'This one's fine,' his new owner replied. He had a light voice, not deep, but not too high either, nonchalant, but with an edge of authority in it.

'As you wish,' Brady answered.

'You can take the shackles off him,' his owner answered and the demon guard complied immediately. Dean got turned back around after his hands were freed.

'If there is anything else I could be at your service with, please do not hesitate to contact me,' Brady said affably with a smile. His owner did not answer to that one. 'My guard will escort you to your car then,' the demon continued after a beat.

'I don't drive,' his owner replied and walked closer to Dean and the guard. The demon stepped back from him. Dean didn't move and kept his head down, only watching him from the edge of his vision.

'Oh, yes of course,' Brady replied. 'It's been an honor, your Grace,' he bowed slightly again. His owner didn't reply to that either. He took another step closer and before Dean could blink he reached out and grabbed his arm. The world disoriented and twisted around him immediately.

When his arm was let go he stood in a completely different room and his stomach was completely upside down. He felt a bit dizzy, but managed to keep himself upright as he looked around quickly.

It was a living room, albeit a really enormous one. They were standing beside a half circle of large couches which were around a fireplace. In the entire room the colors were light and warm and soft carpets covered most of the floor, and many other things. Actually, the whole room seemed sort of messy. Magazines and books dropped down at random places, some clothes scattered on the couch, a few empty bottles and a bowl half-full with some snacks on the coffee-table. The place looked like it was made and decorated with great care, all furniture and colors matching, but Dean had the feeling it was not his owner who furnished it himself, because the way it looked right now, he either didn't care about the room looking pristine or he had a small kid who liked leaving stuff around.

'So, Dean,' he immediately stopped looking around in the room and focused on his owner. 'I assume you know who I am.'

Dean startled a little at the statement and didn't know how to answer. How was he supposed to know that?

'You're my master…' he tried.

'Besides that,' his owner prompted. Dean started to feel just a little bit nervous.

'I'm… sorry… I…' he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to say. His owner looked at him for a moment, his face showed something close to surprise.

'Really? Have you been living under a rock or something?' he asked.

'My late master was pretty remote and I lived on his land for thirteen years, I don't know what I'm supposed to say.'

His owner's face shifted a little, he looked thoughtful and maybe even a little curious.

'So if I say, that I'm the Archangel Gabriel, it means to you that…' he let the statement trail off and waited for Dean to finish.

'That you're an angel?' Dean tried again, uncertain about his answer. Gabriel, he had a name now, it was always good to know such basic things. He at least also knew now that he was bought by an angel, he was definitely not expecting that. Well, an archangel, but he didn't know what the difference was. He didn't even know that there was more than one kind of angel up until this point to be honest.

'Huh.' Gabriel looked at him with an unreadable expression, he still looked somewhat surprised and Dean found himself searching his mind for excuses again.

'I'm sorry, I'm-'

'No, that's actually refreshing,' the angel interrupted him. 'I like that. Come on,' he waved him to follow as he started walking, so Dean did. They walked to the end of the living room where his master opened a door.

'This is the bathroom you can use, which you really should, by the way,' he walked a bit further to another door and opened that one too. 'And this one's your room.'

'My what?' Dean asked before he could stop himself.

'Never had a room on your own before, right?' the archangel asked.

'I can't say I had,' Dean answered.

'Well, I have plenty of space here, so now you have one. Clean up and go to sleep. It's late and I'm not in the mood of explaining things right now, so we leave that till morning. On weekdays I always wake up at 8, there's an alarm clock in your room, make sure you're up in time.'

'Yes, I understand,' he replied and glanced at the bathroom door. His clothes were dirty too, maybe he could wash them while cleaning up and maybe they would dry by morning. He absentmindedly smoothed down the edge of his t-shirt while thinking this over and it apparently drew his master's attention to his clothing.

'Yeah, you're going to need a change of clothes… right… huh… yeah I'll find something,' he turned on his heels and started walking away. Dean just stood there, as he was not told to follow. 'Go and clean up,' his owner said from across the room, not turning back around. So Dean went to get himself clean.

The bathroom was neither big, nor luxurious or anything, but it was still clean and spacious enough. Dean just stood there and stared at the glass doors of the shower stall standing on the green tiles and started to be pretty sure that he passed out at Brady's house and was hallucinating right now. Just a few hours ago he was trying to get used to the thought that he would be taken to work in a factory where he would die in a year, but now? He's only been here for a very short time, but it already looked better than anywhere he was before. His brain was already telling him that no, when something looked this good there had to be something bad too. He chased the thoughts away for now and undressed to get cleaned up.

His shoes, trousers and t-shirt looked really dirty on the nice green tiles. He himself was way too dirty for this place right now. He decided to shower first and wash his clothes after. The water was hot, not just lukewarm the way he was used to it, and the water pressure felt amazing. He found a bar of white soap too, it was again nothing fancy, but compared to those dirty yellow, scratchy little bricks he used most of his life, it was pretty damn nice. It smelled a little sweet, but Dean didn't recognize the scent.

He scrubbed himself clean with a thick layer of soap and washed his hair too, which by the way, was in need of cutting, so he will have to find some scissors and cut it soon, he didn't like it when it got in his eyes. He didn't realize how sore his muscles were, how tired he was until now. He had a pretty decent bed in the quarters at his old master's house, but in the past four weeks he didn't have it that good. Now his back, shoulders and neck relaxed under the hot spray of water and he felt a lot more alive by the time he was done washing his hair. He didn't want to spend too much time in the shower in case his master was waiting for him to give more instructions.

He dried himself off with a towel he found on one of the shelves. It was kinda soft and more importantly clean, so it felt too good to rub his skin dry with it. His brain again started telling him that this was way too good, there had to be a catch, there always was one. The question was what exactly it was. His owner did not seem harsh and his tone was more nonchalant than anything. His instructions were firm, but Dean could go with being given orders, he could obey, no problem.

When he was done drying up he realized that he could use a shave too, but there was no razor in the bathroom. The thick stubble on his face didn't bother him, so he shrugged it off. He also found a pile of clean clothes which made him stop and frown for a moment. He didn't hear the door opening… well, yeah duh, angel. They rarely used doors, that was something even Dean knew, they could simply whips themselves from one place to another. Even if it was a bit strange that his owner went and brought clothes to him himself, but well, it's not like it seemed there was anyone else here. He dressed up. Both the sweat pants and the t-shirt were a bit small, but it was better than nothing until his clothes dried.

He opened the bathroom door, but his owner was nowhere to be seen. So Dean went back to wash his clothes quickly. They didn't get fully clean, but they were not going to be that dirty and they won't smell anymore, so it was good enough. The place was still all quiet when he was done with that so he just walked over to the room… his room, that was going to take some getting used to. He laid out his clothes on a chair to dry and looked for the alarm clock. He sat it to six, just to be sure, and went to bed.

The bed was firm, the pillow was clean and the blankets were soft, even if everything smelled a little dusty and unused. Again, it was a lot better than most places Dean slept at. His mind reminded him again that the other shoe ought to drop very soon, but he was too tired to get worried about it and fell asleep almost immediately after his head hit the pillow.

x-x-x


	2. Chapter 2

(2) August

x-x-x

Dean woke up immediately as his alarm rang at 6 AM, but it took him a moment to get his brain in gear and realize where he was after he sat up in the bed. Okay, so no hallucination, that was good.

His t-shirt was dry, but his pants were a little damp still, he figured it was warm enough inside, so he put them on, they would dry on him in an hour. He didn't bother with his shoes as the floor was not cold under his feet. He opened the door and everything was quiet just like last night, as expected. He padded over to the bathroom to relieve himself and wash his face with cold water. It was strange being alone, the quiet too. As far as he could remember he was always in a crowd. Put together with other slaves, and they worked together, ate together, slept together. Now it was so quiet that he could hear his own breathing. Strange.

He decided to take a look around the house, apartment – he wasn't sure yet – before his master woke. One could learn a lot about someone only by looking around, so he didn't want to let this chance go. The more he knew about his owner, the easier it would be to figure out how to act in his presence, figure out what he wanted and how Dean could make a good impression on him. Okay, so he couldn't erase his little stunt at the auction house, but he could show off good qualities. If the master's happy, everyone's happy. That was rule number one in Dean's book. Even his late master, who was actually grumpy and paranoid all the time, was not that hard to deal with if someone knew how to talk and act around him.

He did not know yet what tasks his owner would give him, but being the only slave at the house, it could be anything and everything. He walked across the living room, taking in everything. He noticed a small hallway on the right and a door not far away from it, which was most likely the front door. Most of the left side was covered in long drapes, they looked a little archaic compared to the other parts of the living room, but he didn't dwell on it. When he got there he realized that the fireplace was not on the end of the room, but one could walk behind the wall there through an arch. He found a dark wooden door and a spiral staircase leading up to another floor. He was sure that the door led to the master bedroom. He contemplated going up the stairs, but decided against it. Maybe he was not supposed to go there and he didn't want to get in trouble right away.

He walked back in front of the fireplace; it looked like there was no fire lit in it for quite a while, since the wood was dusty in it. The room really was messy. All three of the couches had plenty of stuff on them, things carelessly left around. He blinked in surprise when he turned and found a skull on the mantelpiece. It was a bit out of place to be honest. The skull had gems in its eye-sockets and the bone was carved around with a few symbols. It was the only thing he found so far that didn't have a sheet of dust on it. He reached out towards it carelessly as he looked at it and barely did his fingertips touch the bone when the gems flared up.

Dean drew back his hand immediately, taking a step back. He almost let out a surprised noise, but he managed to keep it in. The skull glowed for a moment, then the light erupted from it and Dean jumped back even more at it.

'Whoa,' he managed to keep quiet, so his exclamation was only a hiss.

The light took form and Dean was suddenly faced with a lady. Who was white, completely, her dress, skin and hair. She was also transparent and sorta glowy.

'What the fuck?' he frowned, taking another step back just to be sure.

'How may I be of assistance?' she asked. Her voice sounded normal enough, but had a light echo to it, which made just that tiny bit weird to go with her appearance.

'Huh? Did you just come from the skull?' Dean asked. The lady blinked at him and stayed silent for a moment.

'Obviously,' she replied then.

'Wha- why are you coming out of skulls? What the hell?' Dean asked. The lady looked at him for a moment again.

'I'm the house spirit of course. You may call me Lily.'

'House spirit? Are you like… haunting this place?' Dean asked. Lily blinked at him again.

'In a manner,' she said then.

'Uh, okay,' Dean frowned and looked at her again. She didn't seem like some dangerous ghost, or a vengeful one so he relaxed a little. 'Why are you haunting this place?'

This time her blink was followed by a small huff.

'Have you been living under a rock maybe?'

'Uh, what?'

'I am the house spirit, so I am fulfilling my assigned purpose. I'm a Spiritline endpoint.'

'Well my late master did not have a house spirit. So is this like something beings have, or just the angels?'

'The Spiritline exists in all five worlds,' Lily answered. 'So how may I be of assistance?'

'Uh, yeah I didn't really need anything; I kinda just touched the skull… I'm Dean by the way, I uh…'

'Dean Winchester, human male, age 29, born on January 24, 1979, height 6'1", currently in the ownership of the Archangel Gabriel.'

It was Dean's turn to blink at her.

'How do you know all this?' he asked.

'All this information is on your slave seal, so I just had to take a look at it,' she replied.

'You didn't even move,' Dean answered, absentmindedly rubbing at the seal on his nape. Lily again just blinked at him and Dean started to think that it was her way of showing that she thought he was being stupid. It certainly looked like it. 'Okay, okay, forget it. Uh, so you belong to Master Gabriel too?'

'Yes,' she replied. 'As I said, I'm a Spiritline endpoint.'

'What the hell is a Spiritline?' Dean asked. She did her blinking thing again so Dean rolled his eyes. 'Yes, I'm an idiot, humor me.'

'My task in the Spiritline is connecting, transmitting and receiving through the ether. To connect with the other spirits or to link into astral channels, which are publicly broadcasted in the Five Worlds.'

'What is broadcasted?' Dean asked. This was so weird. He knew his late master was sort of a hermit, but he had no idea that he was this cut off from the rest of the world.

'Where would you like me to link, Earth, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory or the Fay Realm?' Dean stared at her for a moment, not really knowing what this linking meant.

'Uh, Earth?' he tried.

The next moment Lily vanished, or more like her glowy white light shifted until it spread out to a huge foggy circle that floated in front of the fire place and a moment later pictures appeared. Colorful, moving images were right in front of him, like he was looking through a window. Lily's voice accompanied, describing what she showed as Dean stared a little dumbfounded.

'Today is the second day of the annual World Gathering of Witches and Mages in the British Isles. It has yet gone without deaths or any other incident.' The picture shifted. 'A forest fire broke out on the Coast of Southern Spain. Two cities are being evacuated as we speak.' Another shift in the view. 'The God Council is still conferring at the Himalayas, for the third week in a row now, the choice of who will rule the pantheons for the next century is yet to be made.' One picture shifted into another again. 'An earthquake shook the coast of China five hours ago, the number of deaths is yet unknown.' Dean had a hard time following all the pictures this quickly to be honest. 'It is day zero of the New Zealander Vampire Games… and the popular shape-shifter band 'Skins' announced a world tour and a new album.'

A moment later the picture dissolved and Lily was standing in front of Dean again.

'Wow,' Dean summarized. 'This is pretty awesome.'

'Is there anything else you wanted?' she asked.

'Uh, do you have anything local?'

'Nothing is broadcasted here in Los Angeles at the moment,' she answered.

'What? We're in Los Angeles?' Dean asked in shock, but still keeping his voice quiet. Brady's auction house was in friggin' Denver. Okay, so he knew that angels could just zap here and there, but he had no idea that they could just move such great distances in a blink. It was trippy. 'Ah, okay so do you know how the weather is or something?'

'Since you only need to walk out to the balcony to look yourself, I see no point in answering that question,' Lily told him.

'There's a balcony here?' he asked. The spirit raised her hand and pointed in a direction. Dean turned and saw that she was pointing at the drapes… which were curtains then. He turned back around, but the spirit was already gone. The skull on the mantel shelf was glowing for a moment before it dimmed. Dean turned and walked to the curtains and pulled them apart.

The sun was not shining that much yet, but it was already light outside. He opened the door and walked out. The air was fresh and crisp and the view was simply breathtaking. He was somewhere up very high. Dean saw high towers scattered out in the landscape in the distance and figured that he was in one of those, quite close to the top, because seriously, he was really-really high. He could still see the ocean in the distance and saw the long endless green of palm trees down on the ground, although everything looked extremely tiny from up here.

He couldn't believe it that he was in Los Angeles, he's heard about the city before, because even when he was a kid it already had the highest population of angels in the entire world.

Again, he contemplated that maybe he was just hallucinating all of this.

x-x-x

Dean found the kitchen following the hallway and yeah, messy too. Not dirty or anything, but there were dishes towering in the sink and on the stove and around it, there were crumbs on the dining table and dark circles that showed that mugs or glasses were put down onto it. There were a few empty wine bottles too and things like that. Dean was not the most domestic human on the face of Earth, but he did his fair share of house work in his life already. He had about one and a half hours till eight, so he figured this was the best way to make a good first impression. Making himself useful.

After checking the fridge and seeing that it had plenty of food in it he had his game plan. Quick clean-up and breakfast for his owner, it gotta earn him some good points, right? He really needed those. This was a nice place, it really was, and he didn't have any illusions about what would happen if he ended up back in an auction house ever again. He doubted he would be this very lucky twice in his life. So he had to make sure his new master was pleased with him. In the past he lived more by the "don't draw attention to yourself" rule, but he was the only slave here, no crowd to disappear into, so that wouldn't work.

He got to work and when half the dirty dishes were gone he found a coffee-machine on the counter that was buried behind it. So plan was coffee and breakfast. Who didn't like waking up to fresh coffee and breakfast? He searched all the cupboards and the fridge to find coffee and sugar and everything else what was needed.

Time flew, but he worked quickly and soon all dishes were piled up, clean and drying, he wiped down the table too. The coffee machine was quietly puffing steam next to him as he was making something overly simple, just eggs and vegetables fried together. His stomach gave a light rumble at the smell, which again no surprise, his last meal has been a while. He had no idea what he could eat thought, so he didn't risk eating anything without permission.

A whistle made him spin around quickly. Gabriel was leaning to the wall by the entryway, his arms crossed over his chest. Just trousers, shirt and shoes, no jacket yet.

'Someone's been a busy bee,' he remarked.

'I thought I'd make myself useful,' Dean answered and took the pan off from the stove and put the food on a plate. His master was walking closer, looking over the counter.

'Washed the dishes too, that does seem like the better option instead of throwing them out and buying new ones all the time.' His master seemed honestly bemused, like it didn't even occur to him that the plates could be washed until this point. Dean didn't comment on that one.

'I made you coffee and breakfast,' he offered instead.

'I don't eat breakfast home,' the angel replied. Which yeah damn, so much for that then. 'Now the coffee on the other hand is just what I need.'

Before Dean could move to pour him some or anything Gabriel was already by the counter, mug in hand and preparing his own coffee. Dean left the food on the counter and stood still, taking a good look at how Gabriel was making his coffee. Three sugars and milk, check.

Gabriel walked to the table and sat down to a chair.

'So, what else have you been up to while I was asleep?' he asked.

'Nothing, I was here mostly,' Dean answered.

Gabriel was sipping his coffee silently for a few moments, so Dean didn't speak either of course. To be honest the smell of the food was just a little bit distracting. He was contemplating whether this was a right time to ask what he could eat, when his stomach made the decision instead of him and let out a rumbling noise again. Before he could apologize for it Gabriel was already speaking.

'When was the last time you ate?' he raised an eyebrow.

'Uh, yesterday morning,' Dean replied. Even that was less than enough, but Brady surely didn't want to spend too much money on feeding them.

'Bring that plate,' Gabriel told him. Dean picked it up and put it down on his master's side of the table along with a fork. 'Sit down,' was told next. 'At the table,' Gabriel added at Dean's surprised expression. When Dean sat down to the other side Gabriel pushed over the food and the fork.

'Eat,' he told him. Okay, this was really weird, eat at the same table? 'Told you I don't eat breakfast at home and it would be a waste of good money to let you starve to death,' the archangel added. When Dean still didn't pick up the fork he looked meaningfully at the food then up at Dean again, his expression more than clearly saying: "don't make me repeat myself". Dean didn't argue and started eating. It all just felt really-really strange. He was really hungry though, so after a moment the weirdness factor didn't matter that much.

He practically inhaled almost half of the food before he thought about glancing up and he froze for a moment when he found his master's golden eyes locked on him, expression maybe a little amused, maybe something else too. It was very hard to read his face. Dean averted his eyes after a moment.

'Ok, so by the way, the food is fair game. Eat whatever whenever, you look like you're two sizes too small for your own skin right now. And if you wait around for me to allow or order you to eat, I'm going to get really annoyed real soon, so don't. You seem smart enough to me, so I don't want to repeat this, don't wait for me to give permission about trivial things. I got better things to do. Got it?'

'Yes, master.' Gabriel made a face.

'Yeah, I don't like being called that, come up with something else.'

'Yes sir,' Dean nodded.

'Meh… fine. Okay, let's go with that. Finish your breakfast,' he added and stood up. Dean saw that he poured himself a second mug of coffee. Dean ate the rest of his food quickly, picking up his plate and putting it in the sink. He would wash it later. Gabriel gestured him to follow while he started walking out of the kitchen. He started talking as they were walking across the living room.

'So, since you seem to be a regular domestic wonder we're going to leave your work with that for now,' he said. 'I'm away during the day; start with my bedroom and my bath, then the living room. If you have time after that you can continue with the other rooms.'

'Even upstairs?' Dean asked as they walked past the fireplace. Gabriel's bedroom door was open and that's where they headed right now.

'Okay, why not,' Gabriel shrugged. Then he stopped and turned around so quickly that Dean almost ran into him. 'But don't go near the books in my library and don't touch anything on my desk.'

'Yes sir,' Dean answered. Gabriel turned away and walked into his bedroom. Dean was not surprised by the mess at this point. Again it was not like the place was actually dirty, just really chaotic. Gabriel stopped by his bed and held out his mug, so Dean took it from him. The angel picked up his jacket and shrugged it on.

'If you have questions ask the house spirit, have you met Lily yet?'

'Yes,' Dean nodded.

'Good, one less thing to explain,' Gabriel took back his mug back and finished his second coffee while he looked Dean up and down slowly. First his gaze was sharp as he took a stock of him, but then his eyes sort of… lingered maybe, for a moment or two. Dean froze again when the angel reached out and gripped his chin, lifting his face a little. He was forced to look at him this way.

'Well, a shower and some sleep certainly did you good,' he observed. Dean wasn't sure how to react to that, so he just stayed still and silent. Gabriel's thumb slid a little back and forth on Dean's chin. 'You could use a shave too though,' he said.

'There was no razor,' Dean answered quietly.

'Noted,' Gabriel said as he dropped his hand and put his mug in Dean's hand again.

'Do you eat dinner at home?' Dean asked then. Gabriel thought about it for a second.

'Yeah sure, why the hell not,' he shrugged. 'Hm, let's say… seven, m'kay?'

'Yes sir,' Dean nodded again.

'Awesome,' Gabriel remarked then he was suddenly gone. There was only a faint sound of wind and rustle of clothes or maybe wings and Dean stood alone in the bedroom. He was standing there for a moment, breathing out deeply. His master was… okay, definitely a little strange, but so far so good. Time for work.

x-x-x


	3. Chapter 3

(3) August

x-x-x

Gabriel was always willing to admit that he was impulsive, no question there, but now he surprised even himself. So he needed a slave, it was a fact, someone to keep a little order in his residence, because he really couldn't just keep picking random angels and order them around for such mundane tasks. Sure, it was funny, but absolutely inappropriate. He figured a slave would solve that. His place may have been big, but he only used some parts of it. One human could definitely keep his bedroom, bath, living room and kitchen neat and clean. His slave could do all that, get his clothes cleaned too, or wash them, hell if Gabriel knew, buy food and every other crap. One human, all his little problems solved.

Then that idea flew right out of the window, with lightning speed. He went to Brady's because it was not the kind of dirty gutter most slave markets were, but he really didn't think much of those boys that were offered up for sale, all scared out of their minds. He figured he would have to go someplace else, but then there was Dean. He didn't know his name then of course, but he saw as the man suddenly appeared and knocked out two demons in a blink. That was pretty damn good for a human, even if he didn't damage them much. He was older than the rest of the humans even if he was very young still, an adult by human standards sure, but just a boy compared to angels. He was tall and muscular, even if he seemed a little thinner than his body built would've indicated, so he probably lost weight recently. His face was pale and mostly covered in thick stubble, but his movements were fast and precise, someone obviously well-trained in close combat. His expression was dark, but his green eyes were burning. He was most definitely interesting and 100% not what Gabriel was looking for.

Gabriel watched as all the fight and aggression slipped out of the man in a blink, how his muscles relaxed and he let himself be knocked down to the floor. It was a strange contradiction, how the one who stood so surely on his feet taking down his opponents, simply just bowed and obeyed. Gabriel wanted to shrug it off. Then that white demon offered to buy him and all of it was gone in a blink, the warrior, the obedient human, everything… it was like watching something crumble to pieces. The panic, the fear was all too visible on his face and he was scanning the room with widened green eyes, hope against hope. With the desperation of someone who knew that there was no point, but had to try anyway, not giving up till the last moment. And Gabriel opened his mouth before he could think about it.

So yeah, he wanted a house slave and ended up buying a warrior…impulsive was one word for it.

He was pleasantly surprised, very pleasantly in more than one way. It seemed like he actually got his house slave alright. He was damn keeping him just for the coffee alone. Also when Gabriel took a good look at him in daylight, after the human was clean and rested, all previous images about the rough warrior slipped out of his mind. His human was cautious and uncertain, but apparently eager to please and obedient like a soldier. Still looked a little sickly, Gabriel figured that would be gone after he got some of his weight back. Gabriel couldn't really get why someone would damage their own property. You pay a lot of money for something and then you break it? Demons were morons. If the slave is healthy and strong they are able to do a lot more work and for a longer time, starving them out and beating them up couldn't possibly be good for productivity. It just made no sense to him.

He got back to his residence a quarter to seven, landing in his living room.

'Dean!' he called out. The slave showed up, coming from the direction of the kitchen a moment later.

'Welcome back,' he greeted. Huh, that was actually nice, being greeted when getting home. 'Your dinner is ready; I was just setting the table.'

'Good,' Gabriel nodded then held out the paper bags he was holding in his hand towards the man. Dean stepped closer and took it.

'Where should I put these?' he asked.

'Your room, they're clothes. You can't wear those rags 24/7,' he added gesturing to the old clothes his slave was wearing. They looked worn and had holes and stains on them. Dean blinked at him in surprise, looking into the bags. Gabriel shrugged off his jacket and dropped it down on the sofa.

'I'm going to go eat, you try those on. All the same size, if one fits, all fits,' he added.

'Yes… thank you,' Dean answered. His tone quiet and his face still morphed into that of stunned surprise. Gabriel walked past him and went to the kitchen. He didn't even think of buying a slave that could make food to be honest, and yet he got one. He liked that he got impulsive with this buy more and more. The food smelled nice even if it didn't look anything special, but one didn't judge a book by its cover or a demon by its host. His slave was the best example of that. Gabriel was not disappointed. He had absolutely no idea what he was eating, but it tasted good.

He was finished by the time Dean got back and when the human walked into his line of vision he just had to stop for a moment and look. The clothes fit alright, well they were a little loose right now, but he would fill them up soon, right now the jeans hung a bit low on his hips and the t-shirt looked comfortably baggy. Both garments were going to wrap around his body fitly later, Gabriel was sure of it. It was not the clothes only that made him look for a while though.

'Uh, thank you for the razor too,' Dean said and Gabriel nodded without answering. He looked younger and had a pretty face, sure Gabriel could see that he was a handsome man even before, but this was different.

'Clothes good?' he asked. Interrupting his train of thoughts for a bit.

'Yes, thank you. I… never had new clothes before,' his slave said, looking down onto himself, his fingers tracing the edge of his t-shirt. Well, of course he bought new clothes. His clothes would not fit Dean and there was just no way he would set a foot in some second-hand store.

'Good,' Gabriel nodded, looking up and down the human one more time.

'Was the food good enough?' the human asked then. Gabriel stood up.

'Yes,' Gabriel said. 'Have you eaten yet?' he found himself asking.

'Not that long ago,' Dean answered.

'You know where I keep my wine?' he asked then.

'Yes sir,' Dean nodded.

'Okay, get me a bottle of sweet red and a glass. I'll be in the living room.'

He headed out without waiting for an answer, but then turned around and got a full view of Dean as he was walking in the other direction. Yeah… hmm. He really was pretty.

x-x-x

Gabriel was sipping his wine while he listened to Lily going through every main event that were relevant to Gabriel and happened through the day. Dean left the room right after he brought the wine to clean the table and wash the dishes. Gabriel kicked off his shoes and was comfortably lounging on the couch as the spirit talked.

The room was clean and in order and Gabriel didn't doubt that his bedroom was the same. His slave was hard-working, he realized that in the morning already. Again he was struck by the absurdity that this skilled and obedient – not to mention attractive – slave was the cheapest of all the humans at Brady's house and was almost handed over to be some white demon's plaything, plain crazy. What a waste that would've been, seriously.

'Anything new on the Gods Council?' Gabriel interrupted Lily.

'The decision has still not been made,' the spirit answered.

'Ok, I don't care about the rest,' the angel said then.

'I would suggest you update your knowledge about what has been happening in Hell and Purgatory as well,' Lily said.

'Not now,' Gabriel waved her off.

'Sir, I must remind you how important it is that you-'

Gabriel heard Dean's footsteps as he approaching.

'Back in the skull Lily,' he ordered, cutting her off and the spirit vanished after a dramatic sigh. Dean showed up after a moment and Gabriel turned to look at him.

'I'm done with the kitchen, is there anything else you want me to do?' he asked.

'Yes, I have a few things to tell you, come here,' Gabriel said and poured himself another glass of wine. Dean walked closer and stood a few steps away from him. Gabriel waved him to get closer and after he was there he motioned him to get down, he was way too tall for Gabriel to be looking up at him from the couch.

'So,' he started and reached back to his jacket that was still resting at the back of the couch. He fished out from his pocket what he was looking for then turned back towards his slave. Dean apparently didn't think that Gabriel's hand gesture meant that he was supposed to sit on the couch, so he was half on his knees not that far away from Gabriel's elbow. The angel wanted to tell him to sit on the couch, but then he found himself staring at his face and disregarded the thought.

He really should've noticed how handsome he was, he was not paying attention to all the details up until this point. He was undoubtedly a man and not a boy, but he still had delicate features. From the shape of his mouth and full lips, to his bright green eyes and long eyelashes, not to mention the freckles on his nose and face, he was absolutely gorgeous. Oh, if Brady would've been smarter, he would've kept him well, would've allowed him to shave and could've put him in nicer clothes, older than the others or not, the demon could've earned a lot of money with this one. Gabriel could imagine how even better he would look like when he got back into the size of the clothes he was wearing right now.

'Sir?' Dean looked at him questioningly. Gabriel must've been staring for quite a while. A smile curled up his lips as he got himself to focus.

'This is the front door key,' he started and handed it over to Dean. 'I don't use the door, but you will need it. Besides keeping order in the apartment I want you to run the errands too. Whatever is needed, food, cleaning supplies, clothes, anything… you get it. I don't want to be dealing with any of it. There's also a laundry room outside at the end of the corridor you can use. You can do that, right?'

'Washing clothes? Sure,' Dean nodded. Gabriel huffed out a small laugh, was there anything he couldn't do?

'And this one here is what you can pay with if you go to buy anything.' Dean took the small card and was frowning at it for a moment.

'Used something like this before?' Gabriel asked.

'My late master didn't even have Spiritline,' Dean answered.

'Well, that certainly explains a lot of things,' Gabriel remarked. Like how Dean had no idea who he was, it was amusing. 'It's not complicated,' he continued. 'When you need to pay you just hand it over. Only you're able to use it, since you belong to me, but don't lose it.'

'I won't,' Dean nodded again.

'If you want to know where to go to get something, ask Lily, but don't wander too far away from my building, some guardian spirits may think you are running away if you do.'

'Yes, I understand,' Dean said as he looked down at the key and the card in his hand. Gabriel found himself looking at how his long eyelashes hid his eyes. When the slave looked back up he stared back at Gabriel for a moment in surprise before he dropped his gaze.

'Tell me something Dean,' Gabriel started. 'How come such a well-trained guard, a soldier, can do a house slave's work so well?'

'I was 16 when my late master bought me,' Dean started talking after only a second of hesitation. 'Before I could be a guard I had to be trained. It took a lot of time to get strong and skilled enough to be able to do that work. So while I was trained by the older slaves I also worked along with the house slaves. These simple things, like cleaning, and mostly in the kitchen.'

'Oh really? Why is that?'

'It's easier to eat properly if you're right there next to the food,' Dean answered honestly.

'Ah, how clever of you,' Gabriel chuckled.

'So I just learned things over the years,' his slave finished. Gabriel nodded.

'Well, I am certainly more than pleased about that,' he said. Dean looked up at him, his face slightly surprised again, but also sort of confused. Gabriel figured he was not used to being praised, or being talked to by his owner this much.

'I try my best,' Dean said quietly.

'I know you do,' Gabriel told him. Dean lowered his head again and Gabriel's gaze lingered on the shape of his nose this time, then his dirty blond locks, more dirty than blond, it suited the man well.

'I clearly didn't pay enough for you,' he said absentmindedly. Dean frowned and looked up at him. 'I mean that you seem to be worth a lot more money than what I had to pay for you,' he clarified. Dean kept looking at him for a moment, his confusion now evident on his face and he looked more cautious than he was before, so Gabriel smiled to ease his mind of whatever was worrying him.

'Thank you,' Dean said, but the frown didn't disappear from his face. 'Is there anything else you want me to do?'

Gabriel let his eyes linger on his human again. This was definitely an important question. Did he want anything else? Not sure, but he recognized the slow burn of heat in his veins, he was not even surprised by it. Some humans were just attractive or interesting enough to catch his attention and get this reaction out of him. And Dean happened to be both. Gabriel has always been spontaneous and not someone to deny himself.

He leaned a little closer to the human and asked him in a lower tone. 'Have you ever drunk wine before?'

Dean didn't move or lean away, but his eyes widened slightly just for a moment, then he shook his head.

'No,' he said. His voice was quiet.

'Do you want a taste?' Gabriel asked as he slid over a bit on the couch until Dean was in front of him. And didn't he look just that more delicious kneeling on the carpet like this? If Gabriel pulled him closer he would be right between his legs. His slave just looked at him again, not moving.

Gabriel took a small sip of wine after he didn't get an answer before putting the glass down. He then leaned forward and reached out, closing a hand on the back of Dean's neck and sealing their lips together. The human went very still in reaction, but Gabriel kept his mouth on his until he could pry open those full lips. Dean didn't exactly go pliant next to him, but he was also not pulling away, he kissed back tentatively, mostly just giving in and letting the angel do what he wanted. Gabriel kissed him for a few moments, until the taste of wine faded away, only then did he pull away.

Dean was a little wide-eyed and breathed hard, a bit stunned, very cautious and maybe even a little scared. That won't do. Only those he wanted to intimidate should be scared of him. He pulled the human closer by taking one of his wrists in hand as he slid to the edge of the couch too. He let Dean's hand rest on his thigh then leaned closer again. One hand he rested on his upper arm, his other cupped the back of Dean's head. His cheek slid next to Dean's clean shaven one. His human was tense in his arms, so Gabriel moved until his mouth was close to his ear and talked in a quiet, soothing voice.

'Shh, not going to hurt you,' he said. Gabriel stroked his hair a little as his lips touched the soft skin under his ear. Dean remained just as tense as he was before, he was taking deep breaths, trying to force himself to calm. Gabriel drew back a little to look at his face, but he didn't let go of him. Dean's eyes flicked up to his for a second, before sliding away. Scared still, not trusting Gabriel's words, or just not able to contain his reactions. Well, he's only been here for a short while.

Gabriel took hold of his chin to turn his head back and lift his gaze, not too tightly, but Dean moved immediately, not resisting.

'Look at me,' he told him and a moment later those green eyes were on him again. So obedient, Gabriel had no doubt that he could simply order him whatever he wanted. Normally he was all about instant gratification, but instead decided to be a little patient for now. His human was not yet his completely; the shadows of Dean's old owners were basically hovering around them. He carried their marks, memories seared into his brain, all those things that made him act the way he did.

Right now Dean was far from the fierce soldier the archangel set eyes upon first, Gabriel was no enemy he could fight after all. The angel was sure now, from the way the green eyes shifted up to his face immediately after he requested it. From the way they remained guarded as he looked up, emotions swirling in their depths while the man tried to hide every single one of them. His human was broken, beaten into such obedience.

So he could take him right now, but that was not what Gabriel wanted, it would not satisfy him. A body was just a body and while he itched to enjoy Dean's, he wanted him to moan, pant or even scream in pleasure, not just to be a piece of warm meat one could bury himself into. He wanted his green eyes to burn with desire, wanted his skin to flush red from heat, he wanted him to yearn for him, to crave his touch, not fear it. He didn't even realize that this was exactly what he wanted, but now that he pictured it, he would get it. There was not need to rush after all. He could take his sweet time getting there. The human was his to do with as he pleased and Gabriel had time to tame him. Even better, he was going to enjoy it oh so very much, and then he would reap his reward when the time was right and it was going to be sweeter than anything he could get right now.

'The only thing I enjoy,' he told him as he looked into his eyes. 'Is pleasure, not pain,' he said. Dean's face shifted from one emotion to another in rapid speed, before it went mostly blank.

Gabriel let a mild smile play on his lips before he leaned closer again, slower this time, giving plenty of time for the human to see what he was doing. Dean stayed still like expected. Gabriel kissed the corner of his mouth as one of his hands slid back into his hair. Then he moved and kissed his full lips again. He did this slower too and for a very long time it was nothing but lips on lips, he nipped and licked his mouth, dragged his own all over it, making it flush red with blood. His free hand he ran soothingly down Dean's arm, very much like he would be a skittish animal. Then there it was, after long moments of Gabriel not moving things further, the tension finally slipped out of Dean's body. His shoulders relaxed and he let out a small breath, parting his lips. Gabriel was not someone to refuse such an invitation, so he shifted closer and started kissing his human deeper. The way Dean's fingers gripped his thigh in reaction sent a hum of satisfaction through Gabriel.

He didn't let go of his human and didn't stop kissing him until he was breathless and finally almost pliant in his arms. His lips were now blood-filled and kiss-swollen. His eyes were still a bit rounder than normal, but there was also a very small tint of red on his still too pale cheeks now. He kept looking at Gabriel for long moments, only realizing what he was doing and averting his gaze later. Gabriel moved his hand to put it under his chin to get his eyes back on him.

'Now that wasn't so bad, right?' he asked and let a smile curl up his lips. Maybe it won't take that long to get what he had in mind, not if Dean's reactions were anything to go by. The human shook his head lightly in answer.

'No,' he added a second later.

'Tomorrow is Saturday, so I'm only going to get up around ten,' Gabriel said. 'And I think this time I'm going to eat breakfast at home too.'

Dean blinked at him, obviously thrown off by the sudden topic change. Then he nodded. Gabriel leaned closer one last time and put a small peck on his lips.

'You can go to sleep now,' he told him then. Dean blinked again, but didn't argue, nor did he question it, but there was a visible trace of confusion in his eyes. He stood up when Gabriel let go of him and headed towards his room after one last look at Gabriel. The archangel picked up his wineglass along with the bottle and retreated to his bedroom.

x-x-x


	4. Chapter 4

(4) September

x-x-x

No matter how many days passed or how much attention Dean was paying, he just still couldn't wrap his head around his owner. Dean was as confused about him in a lot of ways as on the first day. It was pretty obvious almost from the start that Dean was not the kind of slave he wanted. Okay, so he could do all the work he was supposed to do just fine, but Gabriel did not know that when he bought him, so why buy him in the first place? Sure, he was cheap, but from everything Dean gathered so far, that was not something Gabriel had to worry about. He should not think about things like this, but the questions were still nagging his mind. Gabriel was a good master though so Dean would not start questioning him of course, so he kept his mouth shut.

It was past dinner and as per usual Gabriel asked for a bottle from his wine. Only Dean didn't find him in the living room. He blinked around once then headed towards the bedroom. Sure enough, the archangel was lounging on the bed with a book in his hand. Dean paused for a moment by the door before walking in to put down the bottle and the glass to the nightstand. Gabriel looked up from his book while Dean filled his glass. Yes, this was that other thing that puzzled Dean to no end. That look on Gabriel's face, the way his eyes locked on him or sometimes freely roamed. Again, if Gabriel wanted this kind of slave, why buy him? It made no sense at all.

Dean put down the bottle and was about to pick up the glass to hand it over when he heard the book land on the bed with a soft thud as Gabriel sat up, hooked a finger in his belt loop and tugged him closer. Dean let himself be pulled and once he was right next to the bed Gabriel put a hand on the back of his knee and dragged him down, almost picking him up for a moment to arrange him in his lap, with Dean straddling his hips.

The first time the angel showed off his real strength a few days ago Dean almost jumped out of his skin. He was standing by the counter while Gabriel drank his coffee when suddenly he got turned around. Gabriel picked him up – like he weighted nothing – and put him up on the kitchen counter. The surprised sound that came out of his mouth would've suited some little girl better. Gabriel laughed as he slid closer, settling between Dean's legs asking if Dean didn't know how strong angels were. Dean told him that he knew it, he was just surprised. He could literally feel his face heating up when the angel started chuckling again. Then of course Gabriel sealed his lips on his neck and Dean's face felt warm for a completely different reason.

'Why the frown?' Gabriel asked as he settled back against the headboard, his hands resting on Dean's hips.

'Nothing sir,' Dean answered.

'I got eyes, you know,' the angel answered. 'Speak up.' Gabriel's eyes lingered on his neck, where Dean knew were plenty of visible marks on his skin.

'I was just a bit lost in my thoughts,' Dean replied. 'It really is nothing.'

'Thinking about something in particular?' Gabriel asked.

'It's really not important.'

'Dean,' Gabriel had a way of saying his name, with a tone that said clearly that while this was no order for now, it could soon turn into one. Dean dropped his gaze a little.

'I'm just confused a lot about… the things you do,' he admitted, and then breathed out in relief when Gabriel chuckled in reaction.

'Well, I have never been accused of being predictable,' the angel told him. 'But what is there to be confused about?' Dean didn't know how to put it in words. He just had way too many "whys" in his head. He kept his eyes down, only just realizing that he let his hands rest on the angel's chest when he was dragged down.

'Ah,' Gabriel said. 'Still this one? My, you really don't get it, huh?'

Dean looked up at him and the question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

'If you wanted a catamite, why not buy a better slave? There were plenty of younger ones, I just…' his brain caught up with him so he quickly continued. 'I'm… sorry. I shouldn't ask.'

What the hell was wrong with him? He learned a long time ago how to be a good slave dammit, one did not ask questions like this from the master. You did what you were told and kept your mouth shut. He either got a hold of himself and soon, or he will be in a world of trouble, he was sure of that.

One of Gabriel's hands slid from his hip to the small of his back, then back again.

'Tell me something Dean,' he started. 'Do you really think I would enjoy holding some crying, scared boy like this?' he asked. Dean raised his head to look at him again. 'Young boys those slaves were, I might add, practically children. Now what exactly about them should I like, hm?'

Dean opened his mouth then closed it.

'Would you pull some scared little kid to your bed?'

'No,' Dean replied right away. He sure wouldn't, but…

'So, why do you think I would find doing that arousing?' the archangel asked then. His tone didn't sound angry, but it lost that hint of playfulness it carried almost always.

Dean dropped his gaze again. He really knew how to put his foot in his mouth, didn't he? He was smarter than this for crying out loud.

'Contrary to popular belief, not all beings are perverts,' Gabriel added and Dean dared to look up when he heard that the soft playful ring in his tone was back. Gabriel captured his gaze with his golden eyes and motioned him to get closer. Dean knew what he meant by that at this point. His heartbeat picked up just a little still, but he could lean in and seal his lips on the angel's without unease gripping his stomach tightly.

That evening, his second day, it was not just unease, it was fear, he was honestly fucking terrified for a moment. His first thoughts after he managed to get a grip were that; this was it, the other shoe had to drop, things seemed too good for there not to be something bad on its way. He remembered those slave girls back at his old master's house, how they looked after a night when they were ordered to the master's bedroom. He remembered how Bela cut up and scarred her own face just so that she didn't have to do it anymore. So yes, he was terrified, instantly. His old master never fancied boys or men, for which Dean was more than grateful. With Gabriel's lips sealing on his though, peering them open, while he didn't know exactly what his master wanted to do, he was sure that it would be bad.

Gabriel surprised him. He whispered soothing words, his hands were sure, but gentle on him and then he just kept kissing him, holding him close and keeping their lips together. He didn't order him to get undressed or pleasure him, just kept kissing him. And even when he let go, he just told him to go to sleep.

Dean didn't sleep much that night and after a few hours of thinking everything over, he figured his master changed his mind, decided that Dean was not to his liking after all. That made him relax, but he was of course wrong. Not a single day went by without Gabriel dragging him close, kissing his lips and running his hands down his sides or his back or cupping his cheeks. The second time it happened Dean was sure that his master would want more, would order him. He didn't. The next day Dean was even more sure, because what other reason would be there for him to touch him like this. And again, he was let go after some time and Gabriel just walked away. Dean's lips felt wet and sensitive, he was out of breath and completely and utterly confused. He just didn't know what to make of it.

He didn't get scared anymore when Gabriel drew in close, and that seemed to please his owner, it was obvious from the way his lips curled up into a smile. There were a few reasons for the lack of fear, but mostly… okay, so the kissing was not that bad. Okay, so it was actually kinda pleasant, okay so it was more than pleasant. Okay, maybe that time Gabriel put him up on the counter and sealed his lips on his neck and started kissing and sucking and licking on his skin, maybe his breath hitched and only a moment later did he realize how tightly he was clutching the back of Gabriel's shirt. Maybe the way his heart pounded was not from unease.

So Dean has never been with a man before, especially not with an angel. He has been with a woman, once, when he was nineteen and one of the older women his old master owned told him he was pretty and dragged him into the pantry. She was sold not long after. So Dean really didn't know what he was supposed to do, but surely he was supposed to do something, right? For now, he was sure that even if nothing else, Gabriel wanted him to kiss him, so he did exactly that.

Gabriel soon took charge of the kiss, his hand traveling up to hold the back of Dean's skull, angling his head to kiss him deeper. Dean opened his mouth and returned it. Yes, all the kissing was really not bad at all. When Gabriel let go of his lips after long minutes they were tingling with sensation. The angel turned his head and kissed his neck, and that sent a shiver down Dean's spine, just like before. He was already breathing harder than before, but now at the first feel of teeth grazing the skin under his ear, his breath caught in his throat and his hips rolled forward on their own accord. Some quiet noise escaped his mouth at the feel of that. His jeans felt tight, he was actually hard, but that was not the reason for it, but that he was not the only one. He could feel it, Gabriel's length, pressing up against him. It was strange to think about it, that he was the cause of that. So he said he would not find some young boy arousing, but he definitely found something in Dean that he liked, something that excited him.

Gabriel pushed his hips up a little and that small sound escaped Dean again.

'You like that?' he asked and Dean nodded, licking his lips. Okay, so pleasure was about the last thing Dean thought about in the past ten years. When your main concerns are getting enough food not to be hungry every day or trying to survive the night shifts during winter, this is something that's pretty far away from your mind. But right now? His skin felt too tight and way too hot, his heart was beating heavily in his chest. Kissing was not bad, other things would not be bad either, right?

Dean would've preferred to be kissing again, but Gabriel was not moving. Dean focused on him, but couldn't really read his expression. He was not about to stop, was he? No, he shouldn't be stopping, this was… this was definitely not bad and Gabriel could do more of it. Dean was absolutely sure that he was not in his right mind at the moment, because no way he would've dared to do what he did next otherwise. He leaned down and sealed his lips on Gabriel's neck, the same place where it felt good for him. He licked then sucked the skin into his mouth. Gabriel let out a deep pleased sound that Dean could feel in his chest. Taking it as permission, Dean kept kissing and licking on the skin there. He then moved further down on his neck, then to his throat and lower, until he reached the edge of his shirt. He was not that much out of his mind to not stop there and pull up to look at his owner again, his hand resting at the top button.

'Keep going,' Gabriel told him. Dean looked at him as he undid the first button, then his gaze drifted down when he moved to the next one. There was something about the slowly exposed skin that made him keep his eyes locked there, watching how his fingers moved down, undoing the buttons and tracing the edge of the shirt as it fell apart. He pulled the shirt out of Gabriel's trousers and slid his hands down on his front to get the material out of the way. This time he didn't look up to ask for permission before he leaned down to kiss Gabriel's chest then drag his lips up on his breastbone, his fingers spreading on his ribs. He felt so hot, like his skin would catch on fire at any second. His jeans were so tight now, he could feel his dick throbbing inside, begging for a touch. Maybe he could get that, if he did this well, Gabriel was a kind master in everything, surely he would not deny some release from him.

His lips ran over a nipple as he was inching up and Gabriel's stomach jumped just a little at it, so Dean went back and nipped and licked at it more, then at the other one. He was right, Gabriel's breathing picked up. Dean felt pleased about that, it was just, having such an effect on his owner, just by putting his mouth on him.

Gabriel's hands slid around him, pushing under his t-shirt, the thin material sliding up as the angel's fingers moved on Dean's sweat-slick skin. Dean had to raise himself up and the moment he did Gabriel yanked the material over his head and tossed it aside. The archangel's hands were back on him a second later, sliding up on his abs to his rapidly moving chest.

'You feel pretty good now, hm?' Gabriel asked and Dean nodded in answer. 'Want more?' he asked as his fingers moved down on his chest again, until the landed on his waist. Dean had to swallow to find his voice, also his brain was not really cooperating with him much at the moment.

'Please,' he answered and Gabriel pulled him down into a kiss. It was fast and wet and Dean tried to kiss back as best as he could. Then the angel's hands wandered to his backside and squeezed his ass. Dean moaned into his mouth in reaction and he felt how Gabriel's lips curled up into a smile.

'That's it, gorgeous, let me hear you,' he breathed out then reached between them and oh yes, his hand moved to Dean's slack. Dean might've moaned a little when the button was undone, he wasn't sure, his mind was not functioning… like at all. Then the zipper was pulled down and the pressure on his dick eased up. Gabriel didn't pull his jeans down, but slid his hand over his hardness gently.

'Gabriel,' he moaned out and only a moment later did it really register, but before he could try and scramble some of his brain back together to apologize the angel leaned closer and bit down on his ear a little.

'Keep saying my name like that,' he told him in a low voice. 'I like it.'

'Gabriel,' he said it again, breathing out the name. The angel pushed jeans and underwear out of the way and grabbed his hard dick. Dean moaned loudly, gripping the sheets with one hand, Gabriel's upper-arm with the other. He was overwhelmed, it's been so long since anyone touched him he didn't even remember how good it felt, and everything was just hot and heavy and he was way too gone to hold on no matter how much he tried. So when Gabriel stroked him, his grip tight and sure, that was it, he was over the edge. Pleasure ripped through his body locking his muscles up, a loud groan falling from his lips.

It took him a few moments to get his brain back in gear again. He was panting heavily, his forehead resting on Gabriel's shoulder.

'I'm sorry… I'm sorry,' he panted out after licking his lips. He shouldn't have come yet, but fuck, it was too much. Gabriel hummed.

'Been a while?'

'About ten years or so,' Dean answered as he tried to get his muscles to work.

'Oh, don't worry gorgeous, you are definitely forgiven,' the angel said then turned his head and kissed him. 'Such a shame too,' he said after he pulled away. He ran a hand down Dean's back again. 'Such a body deserves to be pleasured.'

Dean looked at him, and he felt how despite finishing just moments ago, there was heat pooling in his gut at the sight of the dark burning gold of the angel's eyes. He licked his lips and Gabriel mimicked the motion.

'Now,' the angel started and lifted his hips up again. Dean could feel his hardness, still very much present. His eyes shifted down then he looked back up.

'What do you want me to do?' he asked. Gabriel kept looking at him for a moment, deciding. Then he pulled Dean a little closer again and ran his thumb across his lower lip.

'I want your mouth,' he said. Dean was not naïve, he knew what he meant by that, but…

'I've never done anything like this before,' he said.

'I can tell you exactly what to do,' Gabriel answered and Dean felt how that heat he felt flared up a little more at the words. That was good. Orders, he could follow orders, he was good at that. He nodded and moved to put kisses on Gabriel's chest again then started to move downwards, which made him realize that he basically got his come all over his stomach, he really was surprised that Gabriel didn't get mad about such things. On the other hand the sight of it just fed the fire burning in Dean's belly more. He kept going down, not minding the slick spots one bit, licking away what got in his way, then he glanced up to see whether it got any kind of reaction out of the angel. The darkness in Gabriel's eyes was scorching and Dean really liked being looked at like this, no one ever looked at him like this before.

He moved down and undid Gabriel's belt then moved to get it open.

'First, you lick it,' Gabriel spoke up, his tone even, but deeper than usual. 'Lick until it's all slick and wet.'

Dean bit his lips as he got the angel's cock out of his trousers. Gabriel's voice felt like it was caressing his warm skin and he was clear enough on what to do. Dean leaned closer and licked. The underside first, slowly moving up to the tip, running his tongue over there too. Gabriel moaned a little at the first touch. Dean licked the soft skin, let his lips ran over a vein, following instructions. He dipped down to the sack too, licking there as well, moving his tongue over and around it.

'Lick your palm and fingers, then wrap your hand around it,' Dean looked up at the angel as he did how he was told. He was not surprised that the golden eyes were locked on him. He gripped the hilt, not resisting in moving his hand up and down a few times, watching how the slick flesh moved in his wet palm.

'Now your mouth,' the angel told him, his voice sounding a little more breathless. 'Keep your teeth out of the way.'

Dean licked his lips then wrapped them around the head, the taste of the angel filling his mouth again. He slid down to have a bit more in his mouth and Gabriel moaned again. One of his hands landed on Dean's nape.

'Move your head and start sucking, gorgeous,' Gabriel told him. Dean did and he was rewarded with another pleased moan falling from the archangel's lips. He started stroking the flesh he could not take in his mouth. His lips he kept tightly wrapped around it as he moved and soon there were breathy words and small moans coming from Gabriel. Praises most, he was enjoying himself. Never in his life did Dean feel more powerful, that he could coax such noises out of Gabriel with a flick of his tongue. There was desire building inside of him as he moved his head up and down, hollowing his cheeks and sucking on the hardened flesh. It was wet and messy, he was slurping a lot, but there was still drool running down on Gabriel's dick, making it even slicker.

'Take your hand away,' Gabriel told him, growled out practically. Dean obeyed right away. It made his job a little harder, but not much. There was no finesse to his movements, he was definitely sloppy and wasn't sure he did it right half the time, but it must've been good enough from Gabriel's reactions. The angel's hips twitched a little, but stayed still for the most part. That until Gabriel's breathing picked up even more. He must've been getting close and he didn't control himself as much, his hips started to thrust up into his mouth very lightly. He didn't push his dick inside that much deeper, there was just a little force behind it, just enough for Dean to feel it and it made him moan. Gabriel's hand moved up and his fingers twisted in his hair, gripping it for a moment, then his body went tense. Hot, salty fluid spread on Dean's tongue, some of it sliding down his throat. He wasn't really prepared for it so it made him gag, but Gabriel let go of him so he could pull off and cough. That might take some practice. He wiped his hand across his mouth after his throat settled, not feeling irritated anymore.

His wrist was gripped and he was yanked down, right on top of Gabriel, and he was kissed. His lips felt so very soar, but he kissed back. When the angel let go of him Dean could look down at his face. He looked sated and pleased, his face gentle with a barely there hint of a smile on his lips.

'Was that alright?' Dean asked. Gabriel smirked.

'You're a natural,' he answered. He looked up at him for a moment then patted the side of his thigh. Dean took the clue and got off of his lap. Gabriel gestured towards his bathroom. 'Get cleaned up and bring me a wet towel,' he said.

'Yes sir,' Dean nodded and got to his feet. Gabriel gripped his wrist again before he could walk further away thought.

'I think I told you that I like the way you say my name,' he said. Dean blinked at him, because he just never knew what would come out of his mouth, so damn unpredictable.

'Yes Gabriel,' he said. He smiled, then turned and walked over to the bathroom. He was standing by the sink wetting up a towel when he looked up at the mirror; his neck was full of hickeys, not surprising. Then he froze and realized; he was smiling. He honestly couldn't remember when the last time that happened was.

x-x-x


	5. Chapter 5

(5) December

x-x-x

There was a thing about Dean, he was very observant. He didn't need to be told things twice, sometimes he didn't even need to be told once, he learned quickly only by paying attention. That's why, when waking up on the second day after he bought the human, coffee awaited him in the kitchen, already prepared exactly how he liked it. And that was the reason why he felt like his brain was leaking out of his ears right now.

Observant, sneaky little human, a few weeks and he already knew how to push every single button Gabriel had in all the right ways. That's why Gabriel was biting his lips, thrusting up into that tight glorious heat, actually having to focus on not coming just yet, because his Dean knew how to drive him fucking crazy. That's why the human was riding on his dick with such abandon, slamming his hips down with force, telling him how much he loved his cock, especially when his ass was stuffed full with it. Yeah, Gabriel bit his mouth so hard in reaction to that line that he could still taste the blood. That's why he was also repeating Gabriel's name breathlessly, that's why he moaned yes and kept asking for more. Well that, and no doubt he liked it too. Dean's prick was hard and leaking between his legs, so no question there.

Gabriel was at the end of his rope, pleasure too tightly coiling inside of him. He gripped Dean tighter and flipped them over, the human's back hitting the mattress in a blink with Gabriel pounding into him, different angle, slamming in deep, making his human throw his head back in pleasure.

'Touch yourself,' he told him. Gabriel lifted himself up on his knees, holding Dean's hips up too, keeping them in place and watched how Dean's fingers wrapped around the hard flesh as he started stroking at a punishing pace. Such a sight, his gorgeous human was. Gabriel waited, kept thrusting into him until Dean's voice broke, his body locked up, and his inner-muscles clenched around Gabriel's length. He let go then, emptying himself inside, only sliding out after he was fully done.

He rolled to the side, catching his breath then looked over at Dean. His human's eyes were closed, sweat was glistening on his forehead, his cheeks were reddened, and his lips swollen, slick and dark red. His neck and rapidly rising chest were covered with hickeys and bite marks, decorating his skin just like Gabriel liked it. His thighs were trembling slightly, the muscles exhausted after all the work he did. There was come on his stomach and also a bit on his chest, it was also dribbling out of his wet, loosened hole. Oh, dear Heavens, he looked absolutely perfect.

Gabriel leaned over him to capture his lips, kissing him long and deep until his human moaned into his mouth. Gabriel pulled away then and looked down at him again.

'Such a filthy boy you are sometimes,' he observed with a chuckle, idly running his fingers down Dean's side. The human grinned up at him.

'You like it and you know it,' he said.

'Understatement,' Gabriel replied. Dean turned to get up from the bed a moment later, but Gabriel put a hand on his hip to stop him.

'Nah-uh, no cleaning up for you yet,' he said. Dean settled back down, so Gabriel let his hand slide down to his inner-thigh, then back up again. Dean, his always perfect Dean, just spread his legs for him at the first touch. 'You look too delicious, so I think I'm going to rest for a few minutes, and then I'm going to fuck you again.'

Dean moaned quietly and Gabriel slid his fingers up, two sliding in easily where Dean was slick and loose.

'Like the idea?' he asked, he couldn't help but smile a little at the way Dean moved one of his legs again to give even more space to him, Gabriel took it as an invitation and pulled out to push back in with three fingers.

'Oh yes,' Dean answered.

'I think I'm going to get you up on your hands and knees,' he pushed his fingers in deeper and Dean started rocking his hips down a little. 'I like it when you take it like that.'

Dean moaned again, like he couldn't wait to get it, like it was killing him that Gabriel was not inside him already, that there were only fingers in him right now. Gabriel couldn't wait to make him scream this time, fuck him so hard and for so long that he passed out from pleasure. Dean lit him on fire instantly, made him want without restraint, made his blood boil with lust. His human was just that perfect.

All his wonderful plans flew right out of the window when he felt the angelic presence filling up his apartment. It made him pull away from Dean like someone poured a bucket of water over him.

'Ah, dammit,' he cursed lightly and pulled his fingers out. Dean focused on him, a frown appearing on his face.

'Gabriel?' sounded the male voice from outside. Dean looked immediately more alert, his green eyes clearing out from the fog of lust. Gabriel motioned him to stay quiet.

'Give me a minute, Cas! I'll be right out!' he yelled, then rolled off the bed. He walked over to the bathroom and quickly wiped himself clean with a wet towel, he threw it to Dean when he got out and started yanking up his pants.

'Don't come out until you're clean and dressed,' he told the human quietly before shrugging on his shirt, buttoning it up, heading out. Dean nodded and got up from the bed too.

He already knew that this was not going to be delightful.

'Hey Cas, was not expecting you back from Heaven,' he greeted. The angel was standing in his living room. Looking exactly the same way he did before he left, dark suit, tan overcoat. 'You know there's no rule in Heaven against changing clothes.'

'I change my clothes,' Castiel replied, frowning at him.

'Yes, you have at least twelve from the exact same suit,' Gabriel said as he stopped by the fireplace. 'So what brings you back?'

Castiel frowned at him again, but this time in an even confused manner.

'The Gods Council,' he said.

'What about it?'

'It ended, were you not paying attention?'

'Oh… yeah, I was… for a while,' he answered. To be honest he was sort of distracted from everything lately that did not involve a pair of green eyes and pretty lips. 'So, who's the new big cheese?' he asked. Castiel sighed.

'Vishnu,' he answered. Hoh boy, well that explained why Cas was suddenly back on the globe.

'I see busy years coming up,' he remarked. Odin was the last God King, he was not easy to deal with, but bearably. Now Vishnu on the other hand was not the biggest traditionalist. He would not just sit back and drink, lounging on a throne. Odin was also a warrior, Vishnu didn't have that kind of a mindset.

'You should have been paying close attention to these events,' Castiel told him.

'Yeah, I know. Not like I won't be contacted if there's anything relevant.'

'Well, nothing relevant for now, but there will be,' Cas answered.

'Awesome,' Gabriel answered. Castiel's eyes narrowed on him, taking in the – probably rather disheveled – sight of him.

'Did I interrupt something?' he asked.

'Nooo… kinda,' he settled on a thought later. Ok, so maybe he should've told Dean not to come out of the bedroom, he was suddenly not ready to have this conversation. 'You know we could talk about this later… that would be really nice.'

It was of course too much to ask for to avoid this, so Gabriel just resigned himself to the inevitable when he heard his bedroom door open. Castiel turned his head to look at the newcomer and his eyes actually widened when Dean appeared from around the corner. There was silence for a moment that Dean broke.

'Sorry for interrupting,' he said.

'You bought a slave?' Castiel asked. His blue eyes were dark and stormy as he turned back towards Gabriel.

'Cas…'

'Don't "Cas" me… I leave for a few weeks and you buy a slave?'

'Ok, first of all, that "few weeks" was actually more than five months and second, everything sounds bad if you say it with that sort of tone,' Gabriel objected. Castiel just glared at him some more in reaction.

'Your name?' he asked, looking back at Dean again.

'Dean… sir,' the human answered.

'My name is Castiel and you can of course address me by that,' the angel replied. 'Dean, I'd like to talk with my brother alone. Would you mind giving us some privacy, please?'

Dean was obviously surprised by the formal and polite request. His eyebrows shot up and he glanced at Gabriel. The archangel nodded with his head that he really could leave.

'Ok, I got some laundry to do anyways,' Dean answered. He walked across the living room with hurried steps. Gabriel picked up on the second Castiel noticed all the red marks covering Dean's neck, because his brows furrowed even deeper as he shifted his gaze back on Gabriel. Dean stepped into his room, came back with a basket full of clothes and other things and then he was out of the apartment after looking back at Gabriel one last time. Castiel was silently glaring at Gabriel with a dark expression on his face all the while.

'Don't look at me like that.'

'How am I supposed to look at you?' Castiel asked.

'It's not as bad as you think it is,' Gabriel started, having enough of the glaring.

'It is not?' Castiel questioned. 'Was that slave not in your bed just now?' Gabriel didn't say anything, because the answer was pretty damn obvious without him having to open his mouth. Cas thought so too. 'Out of all the disgraceful things you could've—'

'Hey! No,' Gabriel interrupted. 'It's not like that! I treat him right, okay? He has it good.' Castiel did not seem impressed. 'A white demon wanted to buy him, I bought him instead. I did him a favor.'

'A favor? And using him like this? Is that also a favor?'

'Don't go accusing me like that. I'm not forcing him.'

'Maybe it escaped your attention so far, but if one party has absolutely no way of saying "no", it is force, whether you like it or not.'

'There's a difference,' Gabriel argued, and it was his turn to glare at the other angel.

'I fail to see it,' Castiel answered with narrowed eyes. Then he shook his head in a disappointed manner. 'I expected more of you, I really did.'

'Oh get off your high horse,' Gabriel scowled.

'I actually believed that you're capable of being responsible, but I come back and you are still acting like a spoiled, immature brat.'

'Don't you dare take that tone with me Castiel,' Gabriel warned.

'You are an archangel. You can't just go around playing games like this. Your actions, your decisions, whatever you do, however you act, it has consequences!' Castiel practically growled, his voice dropped down lower and lower by every word.

'Yes, I'm an archangel. You know what that means Castiel? That you have no right to question me, much less to lecture me,' his own voice dropped down deeper too as he took a step closer to the angel.

'Well, apparently you still need to be lectured,' Cas shot back.

'Not by you! You should not dare talk to me like this! You're nothing but a foot soldier, don't forget your place!' Castiel's face just darkened further as he took a step closer, not even a little bit less sure of himself.

'If you think that a few angry words will intimidate me, or make me back off, you do not know me as well as you should, Gabriel,' he said in a low even tone. His face was hard and stony, his blue eyes burning with anger. Well fine, he couldn't intimidate him, but he sure as hell won't back off either.

'Well, you don't get to tell me what to do either,' he said. 'Yes, I bought a slave, because I wanted one. He's mine and I'm keeping him, and he damn well likes it.'

Castiel looked at him for a long moment.

'Likes it?' he asked. 'You're smarter than that, Gabriel. You like it, he just tries to survive.'

'You should learn to talk to me with more respect,' Gabriel spat at him angrily.

'I'll show you respect once you deserve it,' the angel replied sternly.

'We are done,' Gabriel said.

'You're like a greedy child, always have been. Possessive of your new shiny toys… but it's always only a matter of time before you get bored again.'

Gabriel had no time to answer as with a flurry of wings his little brother was gone.

'Blah blah mah bah… stupid little… stick in the mud… argh! Fuck!'

He took a few breaths, trying to calm down before he burnt his own apartment down. He paced his living room for a while, coiled tight with tension. He knew this was going to happen. He should've been prepared for it. Stupid Castiel.

'Gabriel?' The archangel turned and found Dean standing by the front door. He didn't even hear the door opening. 'Is everything alright?'

'No,' Gabriel answered curtly. His human seemed to be thinking about whether to open his mouth or not, but in the past weeks he grew better at speaking up, knowing that he would not be punished for talking.

'You were arguing with your… brother… was that because of me?' he asked. Gabriel took another deep breath, wanting to let go of his anger now.

'Yes and no,' he replied. 'It was not because of you, but about you,' he said. 'Nothing you did, just… my little brother is a… human rights activist, one of the big chiefs in the Anti-Slavery Movement actually.'

'Oh,' Dean looked very surprised at that.

'You heard about them?'

'Sure,' Dean nodded. 'I didn't actually think that they were real though,' he added. Gabriel raised an eyebrow. 'I thought it was just one of those slave tall tales, what you tell the kids so they-' Dean cut himself off abruptly.

'They what?' Gabriel asked and Dean hesitated for a moment before answering

'So they don't lose hope,' he replied quietly, his eyes not meeting Gabriel's fully. 'So your brother…'

'Is not pleased that I bought you,' Gabriel answered. 'Obviously.'

'I see,' Dean said. 'Is there anything you want me to do?' he asked then and Gabriel sighed.

'Yeah, you know what? We're going to get drunk.'

'Excuse me?' Dean asked, his expression lost somewhere between frowning and being shocked.

'You heard me,' Gabriel nodded. 'You're going to bring us a few bottles of wine, two glasses and we're going to drink… a lot.'

Dean blinked at him, but didn't argue. He headed towards the kitchen, always obedient after all. Gabriel dropped down to the couch and rested his head on his hand as he watched how Dean walked out of the room.

x-x-x

Dean woke to a splitting headache and a sore ass, and even with his limited capabilities he was able to determine what that meant. First that they really did get drunk, like Gabriel wanted to or at least Dean did. And second, the night most definitely ended in sex he couldn't remember. He tried to bury his head in the pillow, but as he shifted he realized that he was not in his own bed, but in Gabriel's. Gabriel being there in it next to him was a pretty big clue after all. He let out some pitiful sound when he rolled over. He did not look forward standing up. Luckily he was pulled back and wrapped in Gabriel's arms before he had to try.

'How are you feeling?' Gabriel asked.

'I feel sick,' Dean told him. His stomach was not that upset, but all his muscles ached and his head hurt horribly.

'It's called having a hangover, gorgeous,' the angel informed him. He sounded too cheerful, why was he cheerful? He made Dean drink in the first place, so he should not be amused by him hurting.

'I don't like it,' Dean said then.

'I know,' Gabriel said and pulled him even closer. Dean felt how fingers slid into his hair and lips touched his forehead. Then the throbbing ache was gone from his head all of a sudden, his muscles felt less sore and his stomach settled. He blinked open his eyes and stared at the angel after he pulled away.

'Did you… how did you just do that?' he asked. He did not know angels could do that. Gabriel just smiled and pulled him down until Dean was wrapped around his body again.

'It's a super special secret archangel thing,' Gabriel said. Dean relaxed his body as Gabriel kept stroking his hair. Gabriel was upset yesterday after his brother left, he was more tight-lipped than usual and his face was hard and stormy for a very long time. He seemed calmer now, so however those parts of the night went Dean couldn't remember, it must've gone well.

'Your birthday is coming up,' Gabriel said suddenly. Dean frowned and thought about it, he never really kept it in mind when it was, it's not like he ever celebrated. It was indeed due in a few weeks.

'Yes,' he said.

'You're going to be 30,' the angel said then. Dean didn't know what he wanted with this, besides pointing out the fact that Dean was getting older. 'I'm going to give you a present.'

Now that made Dean sit up. He blinked down at the archangel for a moment, not really sure he heard that one right.

'A present?' he asked.

'Yep,' Gabriel nodded, smiling a little. He really was not as upset as the day before, it was a relief. Dean didn't really know how to deal with him being angry or upset.

'What kinda present?' he found himself asking.

'That's up to you,' Gabriel told him. 'You get to choose.'

'Choose what?'

'Whatever you want,' Gabriel smiled again. His hand was idly stroking the small of Dean's back.

'What?' Dean frowned.

'You can ask whatever you want for your birthday, and I'm going to get it for you,' the archangel clarified. Dean was not sure how to react to that. Was he serious?

'I wouldn't even know what to ask for,' he answered and it was true enough. If Gabriel wanted to give him something he should just choose something himself.

'Well, don't just think about tangible things, okay? It could also be something else. Like if there is something you want to see, somewhere you want to go… anything.'

Dean stared at the angel for long moments, his mind racing. He was serious. But… what was he supposed to ask for? Go somewhere? He's never been anywhere, how should he know… this was… big.

'Do I get to think about it?' he asked.

'Sure thing,' Gabriel replied. 'But give me time to get what you decide on, okay?' Dean nodded and Gabriel pulled him down to the bed again, arranging Dean's limbs until the human was wrapped around him once again. Dean for his part was thinking, but having absolutely no idea what to even think about. He never had to think about wanting something, so what did he want? This was going to be hard.

x-x-x

It took Dean a few days to figure something out, but even then he was pretty sure that it was not something that could be given to him. He just couldn't think of anything else to ask for. Once the thought entered his mind he couldn't get it out of it again. So he figured he could at least ask Gabriel and if it was not possible, then he could get it out of his head and think of something else.

He walked up the stairs to Gabriel's study and knocked on the door frame to get the angel's attention. Gabriel looked up from his desk.

'Yes?'

'About my birthday present,' Dean started.

'Got an idea?' Gabriel asked and he was already smiling.

'Yeah, but… it's probably not something-'

'Just say it,' Gabriel cut him off. Dean took a deep breath and continued.

'So, you said I could ask for seeing something or going somewhere?'

'That's right,' Gabriel nodded. Dean's hands were trembling as he formed the words.

'I would… very much… like to see my brother,' he said.

'Your brother?' Gabriel asked.

'Yes, his name is Sam Winchester, he's four years younger than me and he was sold a few days before me, back in Kansas. I don't know where he could be or who his owner is, but… I get if it's not possible, I just… couldn't think of anything else.'

Gabriel was looking at him, he seemed thoughtful. Dean started to backtrack even before getting an answer.

'I'll think of something else,' he said.

'No, I'll… see what I can do,' Gabriel told him.

'Really?' Dean looked up at him. No way did he just say yes.

'I did say anything,' Gabriel answered. Dean couldn't even begin to identify all the emotions that suddenly flared up inside of him, almost threatening to choke him right at this very spot.

'Thank you,' he said, it was the only thing he could think of saying. 'Really, thank you.'

'Don't get your hopes up yet. I can't guarantee you that he can be found,' the archangel warned.

'I understand,' Dean nodded. Sure he did. Maybe he's been sold, maybe more than once, he could be dead too as far as Dean knew. He didn't want to think about that, but he had to be ready for that possibility. He knew all that, but he couldn't help but feel hopeful. For the first time in almost fourteen years he could let himself hope, just a little. Having a reason for him to be even a little bit hopeful was already a damn miracle.

x-x-x


	6. Chapter 6

(6) January

x-x-x

Sammy was twelve when he was torn away from him and even then when Dean thought of him, his mind came up with the skinny little kid he used to be. Sometimes, on the very rare occasions when he let himself think about him, he tried to picture what adult Sammy could look like, but he could never come up with anything real. He did wonder, sometimes. More often he squashed it down so deep, buried it under everything he could, because it hurt too much. It felt like a gaping hole inside his chest, like something was ripped out of him when Sammy was torn out of his arms.

Gabriel didn't say anything about Dean's wish in the following weeks and Dean couldn't bring himself to ask about it again, too afraid that the angel would tell him that his brother was long gone. Some parts of him, quiet cautious parts of him, actually hoped, counted back the days till his birthday for the first time in his life.

He didn't sleep for more than an hour the night before his birthday. Too nervous, excited, panicked… it was hard to identify what he was feeling. He got out of bed early. He showered and shaved then since he had nothing else to do he cleaned out his bathroom, then his room, then the kitchen too for good measures. The hours seemed to tick away way too slowly even if he was occupying himself. He tried to eat some breakfast, but he couldn't really get much into his stomach. He made coffee for Gabriel sooner than on an average day. It was only thirty minutes too early, so he picked up the mug and walked over to Gabriel's bedroom.

The archangel was sleeping on his stomach as Dean opened the door quietly and walked to the bed. Gabriel got the sheets a little twisted around his legs, so his back was mostly uncovered. Dean put down the mug to the nightstand before he sat down to the edge of the bed. His hands were warm from the coffee-mug as he touched the angel's back and ran his hand up on it, until he rested it on his neck.

'Gabriel,' he called in a quiet tone. Stroking his hand over the angel's neck and shoulders a few times until he moved and blinked open his eyes.

'Good morning,' he greeted. It was usually him waking up Gabriel. This was a very common morning routine at this point. Gabriel turned and stretched, blinking up at Dean again after he rubbed his eyes. Dean liked this part of the day, there was something about the way Gabriel blinked up at him with sleep still heavy in his eyes. He looked a lot more relaxed and less grumpy compared to when he woke up to the alarm clock too.

'Hey,' Gabriel greeted too and sat up in his bed with a yawn. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times to get it back to order from its chaotic state. Dean found it actually amusing that it was the first thing he did every single morning, getting his hair back in order. He never commented on it of course.

Dean picked up the coffee-mug and handed it over to him. Gabriel took a sip right away after getting it. Dean just kept sitting at the edge of the bed, really wanting to ask whether they were going somewhere or not, just something about any of this. Gabriel drank his coffee then got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Normal morning routine so far, well not always, sometimes Gabriel grabbed him and dragged him down into bed for a blow job or some morning sex, but apparently this was not one of those days.

When Dean heard the shower start running he sighed and went back to the kitchen to make some breakfast for the angel. He was way too edgy. While he was preparing the food he also considered that maybe Gabriel forgot what day it was. Maybe Dean should've reminded him a few days ago. He really had no idea.

When the archangel walked into the kitchen he was fully dressed, including shoes. He sat down to the table without a word. It's not like Gabriel was chatty every morning, but he seemed a bit more silent. Or maybe Dean was just imagining things because of his nerves. He tried to shrug it off, but it turned out to be a pretty damn hard task. Gabriel got his second coffee and his breakfast and Dean just hovered awkwardly by the table for another moment. Gabriel looked up at him after a moment or so, then huffed out a laugh.

'Oh dear Heavens, stop panicking,' he said. 'Go put on some shoes, get dressed.'

Dean stared at him, not really finding his voice to ask the question properly.

'Does… this mean…?'

'Yes, we are going out,' Gabriel replied as he started eating. Dean was pretty damn sure that he was actually going to start to hyperventilate.

'So… uh…'

'You are going to give yourself a heart attack,' the angel remarked. 'Yes, we are going to see your brother.'

Dean didn't need to be told twice to get ready now. He dashed over to his room the next second, he heard that Gabriel chuckled on his way out of the kitchen. He put on socks and shoes, a shirt instead of his normal tee and grabbed his jacket too. So he shouldn't care how he looked, because that was not the point, but he did not know where exactly they were going, so it never hurt to look respectable. Well, now that he had enough clothes to be able to look respectable. Gabriel didn't have his jacket, so before going back to the kitchen Dean went and grabbed that too. He was back by the archangel pretty soon. Gabriel was not done eating yet of course.

'You look like an overactive eight year-old,' the angel said. Dean made a 'duh' face before he could stop himself, but Gabriel just chuckled again in reaction. 'Not that I blame you,' he added.

'Okay, so there's a few things you need to know,' Gabriel spoke up again after a few bites of food. 'Sit.'

Oh that didn't sound good, that didn't sound good at all.

'What?' he asked as he sat down to the table across from Gabriel.

'Okay, so your brother Sam belongs to an angel right now,' Dean wanted to breath out in relief in reaction, but Gabriel didn't really give him the time to do so. 'Unfortunately, not the good type.'

'What do you mean by that?' Dean frowned.

'Well most angels are okay enough, but some are… no better than demons, they just pretend they are.'

'And the angel who owns Sammy…'

'Is one of those kinds, yes,' the archangel replied. Dean's mind was immediately racing, fearing the worst. His face must've shown what he thought this time too since Gabriel continued, answering his unasked questions. 'I don't know how your brother is, only thing I know that he's alive. We'll see when we get there.'

Dean nodded. His stomach clenched again, he really wanted him to be fine. He had to be. Damn, he could never protect him, but he could hope right?

'Also. This angel we will see… I can't stand him, not one bit, but I'm going have to play nice while we're there. He treats slaves like slaves, very much so. If you're there, he will treat you like that too.'

Dean shrugged. 'I'm used to that,' he answered. Gabriel was a whole different thing altogether, but his life before the archangel included being a slave and also being treated like one. Even still if he went out to shop for groceries or anything else that was needed he was treated like a slave by whoever he encountered. Except for Castiel, but he didn't show up again after that one time.

'I'm going to have to treat you like a slave too,' Gabriel added. 'Nothing outrageous, but you should not call me by my name.'

'Yes, got it.' Dean nodded.

Gabriel finished his breakfast and drank his coffee and Dean was almost jumping out of his skin while he waited. He was itching to get finally going. Luckily, he didn't have to wait for long. Gabriel took the jacket from him soon, shrugging it on.

'Ready?' he asked.

'As I'll ever be,' Dean replied. Gabriel grabbed his arm and the world shifted around them.

x-x-x

The second they arrived Dean tried to keep paying attention to everything, without it showing. He stayed a few steps behind Gabriel, didn't look up, no matter how much he wanted, only kept observing from the corner of his eye. He didn't even catch the other angel's name to be honest. He looked like an older guy, he wore a suit and his residence looked a lot less modern and much more luxurious than Gabriel's. The walls were white, but decorated with gold. Large paintings, sculptures, old fancy furniture, almost like a museum of pricey – but mostly useless – things. Now that Dean knew Gabriel he understood why the archangel preferred to have his residence be simple, but comfortable. Gabriel liked comfort, he liked small things. Like his morning coffee, the comfortable couch, the balcony, the meals Dean made. They were nothing fancy, but Gabriel always seemed to like it.

This angel was nothing like Gabriel if his living environments were anything to go by. For one Dean could not imagine any of those large sculpted wooden chairs with the golden pillows being comfortable. They fitted the room at large, but definitely nothing for function there. He was not acknowledged by anyone, unsurprisingly.

Dean started to wonder how he's going to meet his brother like this. The older looking angel kept talking with large affable words, being honored to have Gabriel as his guest finally. Gabriel mostly answered nonchalantly. A short answer here and there, saying the visit was long overdue. He was also mostly taking in the room they were lead to after arriving. Dean really didn't pay much attention, his mind was otherwise occupied. He saw that there were some humans in the room, but so far only two women, standing silently by the wall. Maids, guessed by their clothes. No guys. Dean wouldn't even recognize his brother, would he? Maybe he would. Maybe he didn't change that much. Okay, that was stupid, of course he did. He couldn't help hoping that maybe he would recognize him, like something in him would stir and he would just know if he saw him. He was not betting on it though, that connection, that close relationship he and Sam had was such a long time ago, maybe all was gone now.

He only started to pay attention when some drinks and other things were served. Again, he couldn't really look around without raising his head and since the host angel was right in front of him, he didn't think that would be wise. Gabriel said to act like a slave, so he would. But he did manage to look at the slaves coming in.

And there…

He raised his head a little, just so he could look up more. There was one man. Lanky, with long limbs, mops of hair falling into his eyes, very tall. He couldn't see his face properly as he had his eyes cast down, his head bowed. He only saw the shape of his nose and chin, but… was that Sammy? He couldn't bring himself to declare he was in case he was wrong, but… something did stir in him. The young man's hand shook a little as he put the plate down to the coffee table, then he quickly stepped back. Dean was barely breathing.

'Your slave looks a little… sickly,' Gabriel said. His voice did not pull Dean away from looking at the young man standing in the edge of his vision.

The older looking angel waved his hand.

'Nothing you need to worry yourself about, your Grace,' he said.

'I don't like to have sick humans around me,' Gabriel answered.

'Oh yes, certainly, nothing of sorts I assure you. Sam's here a little… rebellious,' he answered and Dean's breath caught in his throat. It was him, it really was him! His fists clenched and he had to restrain himself from moving. Surely Gabriel would do something so that he could talk with his brother. Yes, he only asked to "see" him, but surely Gabriel knew that he meant being able to talk with him.

'He needed to be reminded of his place and he did not manage to get himself back into a respectable shape yet,' the angel continued and Dean felt how his pulse rose in anger. His fists clenched further and he had to bow his head a little bit more so that the rage on his face would not be noticed.

'Ah, I see,' Gabriel answered. Again with that nonchalant tone, like he couldn't care less one way or another. If Dean didn't know him better he would be sure that he truly didn't care. He did know him better, or he was pretty sure he did at least. Sam left the room after his master waved his hand in dismissal. Gabriel made a considering tone.

'Something the matter, your Grace?' he asked.

'You wouldn't mind if I sent my slave to prepare my drink for me again, would you?' Gabriel started. 'I like it to be made a certain way and your slaves of course could not have known that.'

'Oh yes, of course, my apologies,' the angel said right away. Gabriel shook his head.

'It's nothing. I should've said it to beforehand. I guess our conversation just distracted me.'

'Yes, I see,' the angel laughed. 'One of the maids will show the way.' One of the girls standing by the wall moved and Dean went to follow. He glanced at the coffee table briefly to see what Gabriel was drinking and resisted the urge to snort, Gabriel was a very very smooth liar so it seemed. He definitely had absolutely no "special" way of getting his drink done. He was only picky about his coffee. Dean took this order as for what it was, his chance to talk with his brother and he was very grateful to the archangel for giving it to him.

He followed the maid, finally being able to raise his head and roll it around to stretch his neck a little when they stepped out of the room. Damn, but he didn't have to hunch and bow like this in a long time. He really had to appreciate Gabriel's kindness in such things. The maid was silent on their way and Dean did not ask anything from her either.

The moment he stepped through the door to the kitchen his eyes scanned the room. He didn't wait, as soon as he spotted the tall form of the young man not that far away he moved and he was right there in a moment. He stopped then abruptly, just a step away and he couldn't really find his voice.

Sam, as he noticed that someone was standing close to him, raised his head to look at him. It was him, it really was him. Dean would recognize his eyes no matter how much time passed. Dean was looking at his pale face and cautious eyes. He must've looked similar when Gabriel brought him. His brother stared back at him, his brows furrowing.

'Can I help you?' he asked. In a tone that was weak, but still made it obvious that he did not want to help with anything.

'Sammy,' Dean breathed out, still frozen on the spot. Overwhelmed with too many things he felt at once. Sam stared at him some more, opened his mouth with a scowl then shut it abruptly, his frown vanishing, his eyes widening. Disbelief and shock rushed across his face. He stayed silent for a moment, obviously not believing, not daring to ask, but he licked his lips and finally spoke after a moment.

'Dean?' he asked.

'Yeah,' Dean answered, a smile breaking out on his face. Tears were burning behind his eyes, threatening to burst out.

'Dean,' he said again, just as frozen on the spot as Dean was.

'Hey Sammy,' Dean answered lamely. The next moment he had an armful of his little brother. Who was not so little anymore, he was taller than him, unbelievable. He put his arms around him, holding tightly as Sam's hands clenched in his jacket. He suddenly felt sixteen again, because no matter how tall he was, how different he looked, his brother was clinging to him the exact same way. 'I'm here Sammy.' He said quietly, holding on. He couldn't believe this, he really couldn't.

Sam didn't let go for long moments and to be honest Dean didn't mind one bit.

'How…?' Sam started to ask in disbelief as he pulled away.

'Long story, okay?' Dean answered.

'But what are you doing here?' Sam asked.

'I came with my owner,' Dean told him. It was the easiest thing to say, without having to get into details.

'I never thought I'd see you again,' Sam said. 'I can't believe it.'

'Yeah, I can't really believe it myself,' Dean said. Sam looked him over.

'You look well, you really do,' he said.

'I'm in a good place now,' Dean said.

'I'm so glad,' Sam said. He smiled and his eyes were so red, glistening.

'Oh, don't start crying or I will too,' he warned. Sam shook his head and sniffed, wiping his eyes. The redness around his eyes just made all the more obvious how pale he was. Dean's heart clenched painfully.

'You don't look well, Sammy,' he said.

'It's fine, been worse, don't worry about it,' he answered.

'The hell I won't worry,' Dean replied immediately. Sam was thin too, but most slaves were, he wasn't surprised about that, but Gabriel was right, Sam did look sick a little. 'C'mon just sit down a little, okay?'

'No, Dean it's fine. I can handle it.'

'Hey,' they both turned and the maid who led Dean to the kitchen was standing behind them. 'I don't know what's going on, but shouldn't you be doing your master's drink?' she asked.

'That doesn't take long,' Dean told her. She left, obviously not caring whether Dean got in trouble with his master, why would she?

Dean figured he didn't have much time. Sure, Gabriel would not say a word about Dean taking too long to "prepare his drink", but still there was not much time left.

'Listen, Sammy. I don't know if I can come see you again, but…'

'I'm just glad I could see you again at all,' Sam answered with a weak smile again. Dean just had to hug him again. Sear it into his memory in case this was the last time he saw him. It was painful to think about it, but he had to brace himself for the possibility. This time when Dean's arms tightened around him, Sam winced. Dean let go of him right away.

'What… what?... what's wrong? Are you hurt?' he asked.

'Yeah just… not healed yet,' he said.

'Lemme see,' Dean told him.

'Dean no, forget about it.'

'Sam, let me see,' he repeated again and moved right away to get behind his brother. Sam sighed and gave up, pulling his t-shirt out of his trousers. Dean lifted the material to take a look at his back. God, it was a mess. He was whipped, not just a little. Long wounds were running down Sam's back, not bleeding, but red and angry on his pale skin. Maybe even infected, dammit. Dean's throat clenched, his mind raced and his pulse started to run vehemently.

Sam pulled away after a moment, straightening his t-shirt out again.

'Don't worry about it. I'll heal,' Sam said.

No… he couldn't let this… he just couldn't let his brother suffer. He was being hurt. He had to do something.

'I'm gonna get you out of here,' he said.

'Dean…' Sam started.

'I swear,' he added.

'Dean, don't make promises,' Sam told him. 'I know you mean it, but… you can't do anything.'

'Watch me,' Dean said. He squeezed Sam's arm again and turned to make some drink for Gabriel, it didn't matter. 'Just, trust me Sam. I will do something,' he said again.

He headed out and yes, he knew there was not much he could do himself, but he would do what he could. Dean got back into the room Gabriel and the other angel were. He moved to put down the drink to the table and looked up at Gabriel for a long moment. He was sure that his face spoke louder than any word. Gabriel glanced at him for a moment, their eyes meeting, before the archangel looked back the other angel in the room. Dean moved to stand behind him again. It was a lot harder to stand still now. The only thing in his mind was that this angel, who was pleasantly laughing and chatting with Gabriel, hurt his brother. If there would've been any way or means to do it, Dean would've stabbed him in the face.

'By the way, that company you mentioned the last time we've met,' Gabriel said.

'Oh yes. Everything is going splendidly. I could elaborate if you'd like,' he said.

'I could take a quick look at what happened so far I suppose,' Gabriel shrugged. 'Not sure I have time to listen to an elaborated version right now.'

The angel seemed thoughtful for a moment.

'We could meet in my office, discuss it at length,' he offered.

'Don't know whether I would be able to make that, but I have some time now,' Gabriel said.

'Uh, certainly…'

'I'm sure it won't take too long to bring here the relevant documents,' Gabriel continued. The angel looked at him for a moment, then smiled again.

'Of course not,' he said. Dean was pretty sure that he would say yes to a lot of things Gabriel said. It didn't take much experience for one to recognize a grade A ass kisser. Dean briefly wondered why he wanted to suck up to Gabriel this much, but it was a fleeting thought, he had much more urgent things on his mind.

'I don't mind waiting,' Gabriel said as he took his drink in hand and started sipping.

'Well, excuse me then. I'll be right back,' the angel said standing up and he vanished from the room. Gabriel turned right away and Dean was down next to the armchair in a blink.

'What is it?' Gabriel asked, putting his drink back down.

'I know I shouldn't, I know have no right… but… he's hurting him. I know I'm… I know I can't do much, but he's my little brother… and he's being hurt here. I just… can't let this… I can't just leave him here like this…' he kept looking up at Gabriel and this time he even reached out to clutch his hand in both of his. 'Please, Gabriel… I'll do anything. I'll take his place even, just… I can't let my little brother suffer here… I can't… so I'm… God… Gabriel, I'm begging you… please help.' He was gripping Gabriel's hand so hard that it would've hurt a human for sure.

The archangel looked at him.

'You're not taking his place, you're mine, and that's staying that way,' he said.

'Gabr-'

'Hush,' he silenced him. He reached out with his free hand, briefly stroking Dean's hair before resting it on his cheek. 'Fine, we'll see what I can do.'

Dean's heart leaped at the words. He was hoping, but not actually believing. He knew this was his only shot, to ask Gabriel for his help, and he sat his mind to be willing to do anything, no matter what it took. He was speechless for a moment, couldn't really find his voice to say thank you, but he should, he should already be thanking the angel a hundred times over. He did what he could do and leaned in to put a kiss on his hand, then looked up at him, hoping that his face showed how grateful he was even if he couldn't put it into words.

Gabriel stroked his cheek again with a smile.

'Get up now, he's going to be back soon,' Gabriel said. Dean nodded and obeyed, finally letting go of Gabriel's hand. He had no idea how his heart was keeping up with this emotional roller coaster he had going. He felt like he was going to explode from all these things he was going through all of a sudden. One thing he knew for sure, if there was anyone who could actually get his brother out of this place, it was Gabriel. The fact that he was actually willing to do it – or try it – still left Dean breathless.

x-x-x


	7. Chapter 7

(7) January

x-x-x

For the next half an hour or so Dean felt like he was losing his nerve. Gabriel and the angel were talking about a bunch of various things. Dean didn't understand half of it. He was just focusing on not saying or doing anything. He was good at that, but this time it was a lot harder. He managed to swallow down his first impulse, so he did not hurl anything at the angel's head, but it was still not an easy task to keep quiet. He had to trust Gabriel, and the thing was, even if his owner was kind, never did anything wrong to him, that was still terrifying.

He feared his last owner, bowed to him, but never respected him. Gabriel… was different, he didn't demand respect like that and Dean was not afraid of him either, not really. But did he really trust him? He never thought about it, cause what did it matter? It didn't really matter even right now, because whether he trusted him or not, everything was in the archangel's hands. Dean was used to having no power over his life, but this was his brother's life and it felt wrong to be powerless over it. He felt like what he was able to do was not even remotely enough, even if it worked, it was not.

'So, I hope there will be a chance to discuss this at length then?' the bastard angel asked. Dean started to refer to him as such.

Gabriel looked thoughtful.

'Not sure. This is not actually something that is within my authority, you certainly know that,' he said then.

'A good word then?'

'We'll see. I'm afraid I can't make any definite promises. That would raise… some questions after all.'

'Oh yes, of course,' the angel smiled. He definitely seemed to have a convincingly real smile, but Dean was pretty damn sure it was a fake.

'Oh and before I go,' Gabriel spoke up again. 'That slave of yours… the rebellious one.'

Dean was pretty sure he stopped breathing for a moment.

'What about him?' the angel asked with a frown.

'Well… why don't you let me take him off your hands.'

'Excuse me?'

'Call me an impulsive buyer,' Gabriel chuckles. 'I see something I want, I buy it.'

'Why would you want this slave? Troublesome, I told you already, you'd only have problems with him.'

Gabriel shrugged. 'Troublesome is sometimes interesting. I don't know yet. For now he seems like something interesting. I like interesting things, call it a quirk.'

'Surely you could afford…'

'This is not about money. Of course I could afford any kind of a slave. It's about things that catch my eye. There's a certain type of slaves I like to purchase.'

For the very first time since they arrived, the angel shifted his eyes and looked at Dean for a brief moment. Dean did not make eye-contact even if he really wanted to glare at the bastard.

'Yes… I can see that,' the angel remarked.

'Let me save you from the trouble,' Gabriel said. 'Surely, you would only lose money on him eventually. Especially if I recall what state he is in right now.'

The other angel looked at Gabriel for a few long moments. Dean couldn't see what expression was on the archangel's face, but again he had to admit, if he didn't know anything about him, he would be wary of the things that were implied in this conversation. Dean just had to admire Gabriel's subtle way of implying something without saying really anything. It was in his voice, the small shifts, how he left pauses. It sounded like he was saying something else, even if he wasn't. Dean was pretty sure that he would have the other angel under his thumb in no time, even if the other was not some boot-licking asshole.

'In this case, I see no reason for saying no, if you really insist,' the angel said.

'I insist,' Gabriel confirmed. The angel spread his arms in a surrendering gesture. 'Dean, go fetch that slave,' Gabriel said then.

'Yes sir,' Dean said and was out of the room in pretty much a blink. Relief was washing over him. They're taking Sammy away; they really were taking him with them. It all seemed so easy, for Gabriel anyway. Dean still didn't know much about archangels, but right now one thing he became sure of. Gabriel was powerful, he did not know why or how, but he was. Maybe with just with his words, maybe in other ways, but he had to be. Only someone with real power could've done this so easily.

He scanned the kitchen as he got in then basically ran to Sam.

'Dean,' his brother stood up from the chair he was sitting at, wincing as he straightened up.

'You got any belongings?' Dean asked.

'What?'

'Anything that belongs to you, anything besides clothes?' he repeated. Sam frowned at him.

'No,' he replied uncertainly.

'Okay, then you're good to go. Come on.' He put a hand on Sam's elbow, but his brother didn't budge.

'Dean, what are you talking about?'

'You're coming with me,' Dean said, not managing to stop the smile spreading on his face.

'Whatever crazy thing is in your head right now, forget it. I'm not getting you in trouble,' his brother insisted. Dean almost rolled his eyes.

'I'm not stealing you, jeez,' he huffed. 'My owner bought you, so you're coming with us.'

The way Sam's eyes widened was almost comical. Dean would've laughed, but Sam still looked too pale and sick, so he couldn't really.

'What?'

'I'm serious, okay? I just got told to come and fetch you, so come on! You're getting out of here.'

Sam let himself be dragged across the kitchen this time, the other slaves looking up at them with surprise as they were heading out.

'But why did he buy me?' Sam asked.

'I'm not gonna get into it now, okay? Once we're home, we're gonna have time to talk this through.'

Sam didn't argue with him and let Dean lead him out of the kitchen. Even when they got back to the room he didn't let go of Sam's arm, but he didn't think it would come off weird. Sam was taller, but he was skin and bones, Dean looked huge next to him, like someone who was keeping him in place instead of supporting him. He was going to have to feed up the kid, big time.

Gabriel and the angel were standing when they got back, obviously exchanging goodbyes. Dean was really grateful for that, the owner of the house seriously rubbed him in the wrong way. He was a smarmy bastard and Dean wanted to be out of his house as soon as possible.

'The seal now, if you don't mind,' Gabriel said.

'Oh yes, of course,' the angel said and stepped next to Sam, his hand touching the circle on his nape. Sam hissed out a breath at the touch and Dean squeezed his arm a bit tighter.

After the angel stepped back, Gabriel looked up at Sam and Dean for a moment before looking back at the other angel.

'Again, thank you for your hospitality.'

'It was my pleasure, your Grace,' the angel answered with a smile. 'You are always welcome.'

Gabriel smiled the smallest of smiles then got closer to the bothers and whisked them all away from the expensive room and the unpleasantly smiling angel.

x-x-x

'Oh bloody hell, finally,' Gabriel exclaimed the second they were in his living room. He was shrugging off his jacket in an irritated manner, tossing it down to the couch. 'Can you believe that douche bag?' he turned and looked at Dean. 'The biggest asshole in the whole Washington Citadel, I'm telling you. I'm going to say a good word about him to Raphael when Hell freezes over. I wanted to tear off his face the second he opened his mouth.'

It was like all the tension Dean felt in the other angel's house just slipped away as Gabriel started acting like, well… Gabriel again. He smiled a little.

'Sort of a boot licker too, if you don't mind me saying,' Dean said.

'No, you're right,' Gabriel huffed. He ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. He then looked over to them. Dean turned to his brother too, who was standing with his head bowed, gripping the hand Dean had on his arm.

'You okay, Sammy?'

'Just, my stomach…'

'Yeah, um… that happens when you fly with an angel. Okay, come on I want to take a look at your wounds.'

'Dean.' Sam looked up at him a little. He shifted his eyes a little gesturing at Gabriel as subtly as possible. Dean suddenly remembered how guarded and suspicious he was around the archangel when he was first bought, so he understood why his brother looked a little out of the loop and cautious, despite Dean being there. He looked up at Gabriel again.

'I'm gonna get Sammy settled, maybe I'm going to have to go and buy some stuff too. That alright with you?'

Gabriel looked Sam over. It was mostly an observing gaze, taking in what kind of a state he was in. He shrugged then.

'Sure, I got some work to do anyways,' the angel said. 'He looks like death warmed over, so just do whatever.'

'Will do, thank you,' Dean replied. He had yet to say thank you properly, but his mind was set on the task at hand. Sammy was injured and he needed his help. Gabriel turned to leave without another word. He grabbed Lily's skull from the mantelpiece before he walked out of the room. Dean heard his steps on the wooden stairs leading up to the next floor.

'C'mon, we have to get those wounds treated properly.'

Sam had a frown on his face, but he turned and walked with Dean.

'What?' the older Winchester asked.

'Your… our master is… a strange one, isn't he?' he asked and Dean laughed quietly at it.

'Well, first of all, he doesn't like to be called "master". Second, yeah, I guess he kinda is… one of a kind… but… you're gonna be fine here, Sammy. Trust me. Everything's going to be fine, you're safe now.'

Sam looked at him for a long moment, then nodded, even smiled a little. Dean felt like the gaping hole in his chest finally started to heal over seeing that.

x-x-x

Dean ran a quick errand after Sam told him about a half dozen times that he was fine. Dean felt like he was justified to be worried. He had his brother back. He couldn't believe it, he couldn't comprehend it. He was expecting to wake up at any moment, because he never ever dared to hope that this day would come. Never. He was still in disbelief. He bought everything he wanted in record speed, and the closer he was to Gabriel's building the quicker he walked. He was basically running from the front door to his bedroom, wanting to be sure that his brother was still there.

He was, sitting on Dean's bed, exactly where he left him. He looked up when the door opened and Dean just had to smile again. Just because of the fact that he was there.

'I'm back!' he exclaimed unnecessarily.

'Sure you won't get in trouble for leaving the house alone?' Sam asked. Dean huffed out a laugh.

'We are not in a house, but on the top of a skyscraper, and no I won't, relax.'

Dean started unloading everything he bought to his table. Sam was silent, but Dean was also not sure what to talk about. It's been so long, they needed some time that was for sure. He glanced over at his little brother and noticed how his eyes seemed a little glazed over. His first thought was that he's been crying, but his eyes were not red.

'You okay, Sammy?' Dean asked as he stepped closer. The kid was so damn pale, Dean's mind started to race, what to get him first to get him back on his feet.

'I'm okay,' his little brother replied, completely unconvincingly. Dean cupped his face to have a better look at his eyes. He got alarmed as he felt that the skin was too warm under his fingers. Not a fever just yet, but the beginning of one.

'Oh God, you're getting a fever. Lie down, we gotta clean out those wounds again.' Sam looked like he wanted to argue, but then he pulled his t-shirt over his head and lay down to his stomach. Dean felt how his heart clenched that Sam was wary to accept help even from him. They really needed some time to get used to having one another to rely on.

Dean only took a quick look at Sam's back in the other house, but now he could see it better. The whip wounds were deep and angry red. This was not done by a simple leather whip, those never tore the skin this deeply. And some of the wounds higher up on Sam's back, he couldn't see before, were infected as he feared. He got to work immediately.

He bought some cheap but very strong alcohol he could use for this. An infection was bad, especially since Sam was already starting to have a fever. Dean didn't want to think of the worst yet, he didn't allow his mind to go there.

'This is going to hurt,' he warned.

'I know,' Sam answered. And Dean's jaw clenched again. Just how many times was his brother hurt like this, or even worse? Why couldn't he be there to protect him?

'I'm so sorry Sammy,' he said as he soaked a clean material in the liqueur.

'Not your fault,' Sam replied immediately, but Dean just shook his head. He should've tried harder to keep them together; maybe there was something he could've done differently. He may never know.

Sam hissed out in pain when the material touched his first gash, then he buried his face in Dean's pillow, his hands clenching in the sheets. Dean worked as quickly as possible, to cause as little pain as he could. The wounds didn't look good. He hoped that cleaning them out regularly would help. One of the worst things that could happen to a human was a wound getting infected. Once the fever struck there was not much to do, but hope they were strong enough to fight the sickness and overcome it. Once he heard there were a few herbs that helped, but he didn't know what kind or where he could get such a thing. He only knew the basics. Mostly in his life it was the cold what killed many of his fellow slaves. The winters were hard on them working outside at nights and once the fever spiked, there was not much to hope for.

He had a bad fever one winter after he got soaked in icy rain while he was standing guard by the gates, he barely had any memory of those days, but somehow – by some miracle – he survived. An infected wound was only slightly better, because than at least you knew where the sickness was. You could clean it out and patch up wounds, or worst case, cut the limb off that caused it all, just like with frozen black fingers. But when something was burning you up from the inside, there was nothing to do but lie down and hold on, so yeah Dean was very lucky.

He cleaned out every deep gash on Sam's back. Some of them started bleeding again a little while he worked. There were scars on his skin too, older ones, saying loud and clearly that this was not the first time Sam was this badly hurt. Dean was so angry looking at those, but he squashed it down, there was no time for that, first he had to make sure his brother was okay.

He remembered that whip wounds were not something one should bandage up, so after he was done he just told Sam to stay on the bed.

'It's warm enough, so don't put your shirt back on. It's just gonna get stuck to the wounds.'

Sam nodded.

'I know,' he said. 'I just couldn't really walk around shirtless in my master… old master's house.'

'Okay. That's all I could do. You want something? Something to eat or drink?'

'I'm really fine,' Sam insisted.

'Bullshit,' Dean scowled. 'You're gonna need your strength if you want to heal quickly.' Dean decided that he was going to call the shots if Sammy was this much of a moron. Okay, so he understood why he replied like that, he did it most of his life too, but it was just the two of them, why put up a front?

'Fruit,' he said suddenly. 'You're going to eat fruit first, that's healthy, then you get some other food.'

'Where're you going to get fruit for me?' Sam laughed incredulously. It was good to hear it even if it was breathless. Dean had to smile again.

'The kitchen,' he answered as he put the bottle away and gathered the dirty and bloody cloths.

'Dean, don't get in trouble,' Sam said again.

'Sammy, trust me that I know what will get me in trouble and what not. Told you I was in a good place. Getting some peaches or apples into you will definitely not get me in trouble,' he looked back at his brother who was staring at him a little in disbelief. 'Trust me, Sammy.'

He got a nod after a long moment, so he nodded back and went to get something for his brother.

x-x-x

Sam was doing mostly okay during the day. He ate and drink whatever Dean brought him, which, to be honest, didn't surprise the older Winchester brother. He has never seen a slave being picky about food or saying no to anything that was offered. It was basic survival, you eat when you can, cause who knows when you have to get by without getting anything. Dean started to kick off the habit since he got here. He gained about twenty pounds in the past months already, he was no guard anymore, but he tried to keep in shape, so mostly muscle. Sammy could use at least that much extra weight too, but that was the least of Dean's concerns right now. He could get on feeding the kid properly after he healed and kicked the fever. The fever that actually got worse in the past hours. Sam told him right away that it's been like that in the past days, that his temperature always got higher in the evening, but he would be fine in the morning. Dean wanted to believe him, but this didn't look like something he could sleep off.

Sam's eyelids grew heavy as time passed, his breathing got shallower too, and despite the wounds having to remain open to the air, he had to cover his brother in blankets when he started to shiver just a little. Dean made sure there was ice in the fridge in case it was needed and also got some water in his room in a bowl, wetting a cloth after beards of sweat appeared on Sam's forehead. Sam kept saying he would be fine, but Dean couldn't really listen. He was terrified. He couldn't get his brother back just to lose him all over again. He just couldn't survive that. He wouldn't. He was sure that his brother could endure much, he was a strong kid, always has been, but he was not as healthy as he could've been. Dean just wasn't sure he was strong enough right now to fight off the infection.

It took a lot of time before Sam stopped trying to have a conversation and fell asleep. Dean told him they would have plenty of time to talk, he needed his rest now. His sleep was light and fretful, but he didn't wake up again for a while. Dean just sat down to the carpet next to the bed, staying close and just watching him mostly. Not having in him to move away from his side, not if he could help it. He still felt too powerless, but if there was nothing else he could do besides staying by his side, then he would do that.

His head whipped up when the door opened. Gabriel stood there and he leaned to the door frame as he looked over them.

'You kinda forgot about dinner,' the archangel remarked. Dean looked over to the clock on his small nightstand in shock. Yeah, he really did, by several hours to be honest.

'Oh, I'm so sorry,' he turned back towards Gabriel, then he helplessly looked over to his brother, then back at the angel. 'Sam just-'

Gabriel silenced him with a wave of his hand. 'No big, I went out to eat,' he said. 'Your brother?'

Dean sighed. 'Some of the whip wounds on his back are infected, he has a fever. I did all I could, but he just got worse and… he's asleep, but… his fever is still too high.'

He reached out to put the back of his hand on Sam's forehead again, he was burning up. He turned to wet the cloth again since it got too warm from Sam's skin. If his fever kept spiking like this, he was going to have to drag him over to his bathroom and get him under the shower to cool him off.

'I don't know what to do,' he said faintly as he stared at his little brother's pale sleeping face. He even reached out to cover his hand with his own, like he always did when they were kids. Sometimes, on good days, he teased Sam about being a baby who needed his hand to be held, but most days were not good, so he never said a word then. He didn't say anything to his tears, nor did he acknowledge his own, he didn't mind Sam curling closer to him at night, but also never said how much he needed him to be there too, safe with him. He had him back, but… what if he was not good enough to keep him safe? He failed him before, he couldn't fail him again. He was not going to lose him dammit. He was going to get him better, he will. Somehow. He had to.

He noticed a moment later that his eyes were burning with barely held back tears, fuck. He was more afraid than he even was for himself. He raised his head again when the bed dipped and Gabriel sat down to the edge. He looked at Sam for a long moment then turned to look at Dean. He had that thoughtful look on his face again, a barely there expression that signaled that many things were going through his head. Then he sighed and turned back to Sam. Dean moved when he pulled the covers back a little to expose Sam's back again. Dean stopped only a few inches away from Gabriel, barely restraining himself from grabbing his hand to stop him. He did look up at his face, with a lot of concern and also quite an amount of bewilderment.

'You are not to talk about this to anyone, you understand me?' Gabriel said. Dean just frowned, but the angel didn't wait for a reply.

He put his hand on Sam's back. Sam moved ever so slightly at the contact, but did not wake. Fierce protectiveness flared up in Dean again, but he remained still. This was Gabriel. He waited, breath caught in his throat, confused still. His eyes widened when Gabriel's hand glowed under his skin, only a little. A brief flash of golden light, like his veins lit up from within. The glow rushed across his hand and seeped into Sam's skin. Dean just kept staring, maybe he even stopped breathing as the faint golden glow spread out under Sam's skin, reaching the wounds. He startled and moved back a bit as the wounds started to knit closed, blood vanishing, flesh disappearing under new flawless skin and the angry red infection smoothing out to nothing. It was nothing but a few moments, it didn't even take that long. Then Gabriel pulled back, wiping the small traces of blood from his hand on the wet cloth Dean used to wipe Sam's face with.

Dean kept staring at Sam's back. It was not just healed, but completely healed, whip wounds and old scars alike. He was breathing hard for moments, just swallowing a few times, not believing his eyes. Then he finally raised his head to stare at Gabriel.

'You… how did you do that?' he asked in disbelief. 'Every angel can do that?' he asked then.

'No,' Gabriel answered as he dropped the cloth back into the bowl of water. Dean just kept staring at him, but the angel did not offer any more explanations. Dean opened his mouth, but closed it again. He looked back at Sam, who was still asleep, but the frown was gone from his face, and looked a lot more peaceful than before.

'He's deeply asleep,' Gabriel said. 'He needs to rest and so do you.' Dean had to blink up at him again, hundreds of words, hundreds of emotions rushing in his heart and mind, but his mouth was not cooperating with him. Gabriel leaned closer and put a kiss on his forehead.

'Sleep now,' he told him and stood up. 'I'll see you in the morning.'

Dean was still just staring when the door closed, but then he finally managed to snap out of it and jumped to his feet to follow.

'Gabriel,' he called as he was out of his room. He hurried after him with long steps as the archangel turned around and before he could think of anything else, he wrapped his arms around him in a crushing embrace. 'Thank you,' he breathed out. So much relief, so much gratitude, he didn't know how to express any of it. He was just… overwhelmed. Everything that happened today, all the things he felt and went through, they were finally taking their toll and he was just unable to move again. So he just kept clinging to the angel repeating "thank you" again and again. Gabriel raised his hand to stroke his back, letting him stay close for what felt like hours, but probably were only minutes in reality.

He pulled back a little then and looked down at the angel's face, kissing him before he could think twice. He just wanted him to know how grateful he was, how glad, but he knew there were not enough words to tell all these things. Gabriel kissed him back without hesitation and Dean took his time to explore his mouth, to map out every tiny detail. Not like he didn't kiss him countless times already, but this was something else. Their first kisses were exploratory, cautious, new and a little scary for Dean. Later all their kisses turned heavy and heated, something that lead up to more passionate things. It was sometimes a messy clash of lips, their mouths meeting in a hard press when Gabriel was deep inside of him and Dean moaned into the angel's mouth at every thrust. Or it was a lazy drag of tongues, when they were both breathless and sweaty, lying on the bed, the couch or the floor, their skin cooling down as their breathing slowed.

This was something else. This was a kiss on its own. It was a kiss Dean gave him, not because Gabriel wanted it, but because he wanted it. Because if there was anyone he wanted to kiss on his own, it was Gabriel. Because Gabriel just gave his entire world back to him, his brother, his only family, the one he failed, whom he lost, was given back to him. This was a second chance given to him with a kiss and a smile. It felt like a dream.

His lips lingered on Gabriel's before he drew back. The angel had his eyes closed when Dean looked down at him, but he opened them after a moment. Dean was still fascinated by the color, and now that he saw that golden light, even more so. Like if he looked long enough, maybe he will be able to see it swirling in the depths of the amber pools. Then Gabriel smiled and it just made his face look gentler, kinder in a way that Dean only ever saw it when he was really relaxed, still sleepy or just after sex. Dean may have felt more than a little satisfied about the kiss seeing that expression.

'Remember. Not a word to anyone,' Gabriel said again. His voice was deep, but not harsh or threatening and Dean nodded again without questioning it. If this was what Gabriel asked for, he would not speak a word of it to a single soul, not ever. That was the least he could do. The fact that Gabriel trusted him with a secret also made him feel something he didn't even know, it was too big to put his finger on it.

'Never,' he whispered.

'Go to sleep now,' Gabriel said.

'Is it really okay if I stay with Sam tonight?' Dean asked. He really wanted to stay with Sam and make sure he slept fine, and just be in the same room with him, but he just had to ask.

'It's a special occasion, so…' he shrugged. Dean smiled again, nodding. Gabriel leaned closer and put a kiss on his lips again. 'Happy Birthday,' he said with a smile as he pulled away. Dean didn't go after him when he walked off this time, but the urge was there.

He made himself some sort of a bed out of spare blankets and pillows. It's been a long while since he had to sleep on the floor, but he would deal. He checked on Sam's back one more time, but it was still healed and without a trace of a scar. His brother's skin was still pale, but only as warm as it was supposed to be. The fever was gone along with the wounds and the infection.

He stared at the ceiling for a long time, just listening to Sam's even breathing, while the kiss he gave still lingered on his lips. Then he realized with a start that he was happy… he was actually happy, like he's never been before. It was strange and unusual… too new.

It was almost frightening to be honest.

x-x-x


	8. Chapter 8

(8) January

x-x-x

It was the second morning Sam opened his eyes and he still found himself in his brother's room, lying on a spacious comfortable bed. He couldn't help it, he was sure that he would wake up every single morning for a while expecting to not be there. All of this was sudden, unexpected and had way too many vague details.

The second he recognized his brother was the single most amazing moment he had in his life in a long while. Just seeing him, especially seeing him alive and well, would've been enough for Sam, just knowing that his brother was fine. But Dean rushing back to him and taking him away from there, he could barely comprehend it. He had a lot of questions he did not ask yet. The day before they mostly just talked without talking about anything, both of them just happy to have the other around Sam presumed.

Unlike yesterday morning he did not wake up to his brother sleeping on the floor next to him. Sam felt bad for taking his place when Dean stretched with a groan, but his brother brushed him off. It was like he didn't change at all, sure he looked older, but the frown was the same on his face when he woke up and so was his smile and the warmth in his eyes. Sam had no words to express how much he missed him.

This time Dean was not in the room though, as Sam well knew he wouldn't be. Dean told him yesterday afternoon, or more like just dropped it like an offhand remark, that he was staying in the other bedroom on most nights anyways, so Sam was free to sleep in his bed. Sam blinked at him, but shut his mouth before he could say anything. He knew exactly what Dean meant by that remark and Sam didn't want to pester him to go into details. It twisted his stomach unpleasantly though. It meant they had one of those kinds of masters, Sam was less than thrilled about that, but he figured it could be worse.

They had good food, a room and bathroom to use and Dean told him that their owner was away during the day mostly. Sam didn't even see him yesterday. Dean made him go to bed early. It was so ridiculous that he was ordered to bed by his brother, but at the same time having Dean tell him such mundane things, like he should eat one more plate of food or take a shower and go to sleep, it was actually pretty great. Everything was screwed to hell before, one day just worst than the other. Then suddenly he had his big brother back, who was just as big of a mother hen as he used to be. It filled Sam with a sense of peace he didn't feel in a very long time.

He was not completely peaceful though. He got up from bed and first walked over to the bathroom. The residence was silent, so Dean was not up yet either. After Sam got back to the room and took a look at the clock he knew why, it was way too early. Still, Sam didn't feel like going back to bed, so he went to get dressed. Dean also got him some clothes yesterday, which was strange. He kept staring at the new garments for a long minute, raising his eyebrows, but his brother just smiled in return.

'You can't wear those rags 24/7,' Dean told him simply, gesturing at his clothes.

Sam just frowned at him more, but didn't argue. Dean chuckled and told him, that he'll get used to it. Dean looked all-around cheerful, which was good, but definitely not something Sam expected. A happy slave was kind of a paradox after all. He figured Dean was being glad that they had each other again. That made Sam uncharacteristically at ease too actually, but he was nowhere near Dean's level of chipper attitude. He was glad for his brother not being miserable, but it was still very strange. There were strange things here all around.

He had no idea why Dean's master decided to buy him, he did not dare to guess until he could talk with Dean about it in detail. But the most unsettling thing was his wounds. He woke up yesterday and he was fine, not just the "fever didn't manage to kill him again" fine, but completely fine, unnaturally so. No fever, no pain, no wounds, no scars. No nothing. It was unsettling. He asked Dean immediately, but he only shrugged and told him it was medicine.

'No medicine I've ever heard of can make a human heal this quickly,' Sam argued. Dean leveled him with a look.

'Have you ever heard what they say about gift horses, Sam?' he asked. 'You are checking out the teeth of this one. Don't.' He looked completely serious and he was also right, no human led a life where they could afford to question if something good happened to them. Sam didn't bring it up again, but he couldn't just forget about it either.

It was the biggest weirdness in a buttload of weird that Sam already picked upon here. The day he was bought he didn't pay much attention to his new owner, his mind was foggy from the start of his fever and he was in pain, the flight from his old master's house upset his stomach, so he could only recall vague details about him. He definitely would have to start paying more attention now, even if he could probably ask most things from Dean.

He got out of the room again once he was fully dressed, but he just hovered around in the living room. He pulled the curtains apart to let the faint morning sunlight into the apartment. He saw the house spirit's skull resting on the mantel shelf, he didn't ask for the name yet, that would be useful though. He tried to be optimistic about this place, but he really couldn't. Having his brother back in his life was good, but not enough to put him at ease.

He raised his head with a frown when he caught the sound of a muffled yelp. It took him a moment to realize that it came from towards the master bedroom. He took a few steps closer, frown still firmly in its place, then stopped when he heard a thud this time. He only took two steps closer, finally seeing the door itself when a noise came out – sounding suspiciously like his brother – that cleared up right away what exactly was going on. Sam shut his eyes for a moment then backed off and walked over to the kitchen. His skin crawled with unease again, putting him on edge right away.

He really needed to ask Dean some questions. He did not know enough about anything. He wanted to just trust his brother. Believe that this was a good place, and that they were safe, but this did not include Sam's definition of "good". And it's been too long, too many years they spent separated, and Sam was not ready to trust anyone fully and completely again besides himself just yet.

x-x-x

Dean walked into the kitchen about forty minutes later, freshly showered and dressed.

'Hey Sammy,' he greeted with a big smile. 'Sleep alright?' he asked as he turned and started making coffee.

'Yeah, I did. Should I be helping with anything?' Sam asked.

'Hm, did you eat yet?' his brother asked.

'No.'

'Okay, you can help. Get the eggs, sausage and let's see… some cheese and butter. I'll finish the coffee, you can start making some toasts,' he added and got out some bread from the cupboard.

Sam got up from the table and went to the fridge. He figured he could wait with any of his questions after their owner was gone for the day. He froze and blinked in surprise while getting the eggs and the cheese. He straightened up and turned back at his brother.

'Are you… humming?' he asked in disbelief. Dean looked at him then huffed out a small laugh.

'Yeah, sorry… bad habit,' he said. Sam frowned as he got the butter.

'What could possibly get you in a good enough mood to… hum?' he asked. He knew what was going on not that long ago, that was not something to hum about cheerfully.

'Nothing out of the ordinary,' Dean said with another smile.

'How much toast should I make?'

'How many pieces do you want?' Dean asked.

'We're making food for ourselves?' he asked. He was pretty sure they were supposed to make something for their owner first.

'We're making food for all of us,' Dean replied. 'That's five pieces plus as many as you want.'

Sam stared at his brother for a moment, but then shrugged it off. He could ask all his questions later.

The toasts and the coffee were done and Dean was making the eggs and sausages so Sam sat back down to the table to wait, not like he had anything to do. He doubted Dean needed any help with this to begin with. This brought back the question of why he was bought. It was troubling.

Then their owner walked into the kitchen so Sam got to his feet. The angel actually stopped and blinked at him, like he forgot he was supposed to be there. Then he continued his way to the counter. Dean turned from the stove and handed a mug of coffee over… with a smile, an actual smile. Seriously, who the hell smiled at their master, ever? Their owner took the mug and started drinking right away.

'Just sit down, I'm almost done,' Dean said as he turned back to the frying pan. The angel hummed in a way that Sam couldn't interpret then leaned to the counter next to Dean, just sipping his coffee standing there. There were a few moments of silence before the golden eyes locked on Sam again.

'Seesh, sit down would you? My neck's going to hurt if I have to keep looking up at you,' he said. Sam obeyed, even if he found the order weird. Their owner turned back towards what Dean was doing and picked up a toast from the plate that was there. He started crouching on it, while sipping his coffee.

'You want some butter on that?' Dean asked, not even turning from the pan.

'Nah,' their owner shrugged. Then both fell silent again. There was something regular looking in the whole exchange, so Sam figured that this was not something strange around here. Their owner finished his coffee quickly, put the mug down, then took a look at what Dean was preparing.

'Oh, I like this,' he said.

Dean chuckled quietly. 'I know,' he said.

'Of course you do,' their owner remarked and he actually slid his hand to the small of Dean's back for a moment, stroking the line of skin between his t-shirt and jeans before stepping away from the counter and walking to the table.

'Are you glaring at me?' he asked suddenly, his voice still mostly light and it also seemed surprised. Sam looked away, not realizing he was doing it.

'Of course not,' he answered and he saw how Dean turned a little and glanced back with a frown.

'Thought so,' their owner said. Gone was the curiosity, but his tone remained nonchalant. Sam did read a warning in it, it was best to read a warning in such things.

The angel sat down and Sam stood up from the table right away, the other looked up at him with an unreadable expression.

'I forgot how jumpy you humans are,' he said.

'You gotta give Sammy some time,' Dean answered, no longer looking at them. He was now putting what looked like scrambled eggs with fried sausages to the plates. Toasts, butter, and cheese on the side. He brought over their owner's first so Sam walked back to the counter.

'Am I going have to go through this "sit at the table for crying out loud" nonsense all over again?' the angel asked and Dean laughed again quietly.

'Just eat, don't mind us,' Dean told him. Sam watched as his brother filled and prepared a second mug of coffee, bringing it to the table as well. Sam felt weird about eating with their master there. The angel just kept looking at Dean.

'We're gonna eat later,' his brother said.

'Whatever,' was the only answer.

The rest of the weirdest breakfast of Sam's life went mostly silently and he was very grateful that their owner was up and gone almost right after. Sam breathed out in relief and Dean laughed at him.

'What?' Sam scowled.

'You don't need to be so worried around him,' his brother said.

'Easy for you to say,' Sam answered as they walked to the table to get to their breakfast.

'Okay, so what the hell was that before?' his brother asked as he sat down. His eyes locked on Sam's face.

'What?'

'What… that glaring, that's what,' Dean clarified. 'What the hell?'

'S'nothing,' Sam shrugged.

'Well, don't do it then. Why the hell would you glare at Gabriel anyway?' his brother scowled. No more cheerful mood.

'It's just the- wait what?' he stopped as he realized what his brother just said.

'What what?' Dean looked up again.

'Gabriel?' Sam asked. He must've heard that one wrong.

'What about him?' Dean asked.

'No way… are you saying, that we belong to Gabriel?' Sam asked again.

'Sure you're feeling alright, Sam?' Dean looked at him like he was not making any sense.

'Just… seriously? Gabriel. He's Gabriel? The Archangel Gabriel?'

'You didn't know that already?' Dean asked.

'No!' Sam exclaimed incredulously.

'I thought I told you that,' Dean shrugged. Sam gaped at him for a moment.

'Trust me, I would've remembered a minor detail like that we belong to the freaking Archangel Gabriel.'

'Okay, now you know, what's with the drama?' This time around it was Dean who started to look incredulous.

'Sorry, maybe this is completely old news for you, but you gotta give me some time to digest that I've been bought by one of the most powerful beings in the Five Worlds.'

'Wait, what now?' Dean blinked, putting his fork down. Sam looked at him for a long moment, trying to figure out what part of his sentence might've thrown Dean out of the loop.

'I don't follow,' he settled on finally. 'What?'

'What do you mean that Gabriel's… one of the most powerful beings in the Five Worlds?' Dean asked. Sam had a fleeting thought that he was being messed with, but looking at his brother's face he realized after a few moments that no, Dean really had no idea what he was talking about.

'I don't believe this,' he said. Pretty much stunned.

'What?'

'You really don't know. Have you been living in a cave or something?' Dean rolled his eyes. 'No, seriously Dean, you've been here for quite a time, I just… can't believe you did not know.'

'Know what? Start talking Sammy or I'm gonna get pissed now.'

'Dean, Gabriel is one of the three leaders of Heaven,' Sam told him. He then watched as Dean's eyes narrowed then widened drastically, also realizing that he was not being messed with.

'But… what?'

'All worlds have their leaders, right?' Dean didn't nod or gave any sign that he knew what Sam was talking about, so he kept talking to specify. 'There's the King of Hell, the King or Queen of Gods, the King of Fairies, and the Queen of Purgatory.'

'Okay.' Dean kept looking at him with a slight frown, waiting for him to continue. Sam couldn't believe that any of this was new information to his brother.

'Okay so, Heaven on the other hand has no King, but the three Princes of the Court. I don't know why, so don't ask, it's just how it is. The three princes are the three archangels; Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. Seriously Dean, everyone knows this, how did you not know that?'

'I don't know… my late master was a paranoid hermit, his house was out in backwoods middle of nowhere. I didn't even know what the hell a Spiritline was before I got here. Ok, now I remember that Gabriel was surprised when I didn't know who he was, but he never said anything… and it's not like I'm gonna ask out of the blue, for no reason whether he's a big cheese in Heaven or not. Just…' He fell silent, looking down and picking at his food, self-conscious maybe.

'Ok, I was just… surprised.'

'I'm not an idiot, I pay attention to things, but I can't know something that never in my life freakin' came up before.'

'Alright, got it, sorry,' Sam put up his hands in a placating gesture.

They kept eating their food in silence for a bit, but Sam had way too many things on his mind to keep his mouth shut for long.

'What do you think, why didn't he tell you?' he asked. Dean looked up again, then shrugged.

'What difference would it have made if I had known sooner?' he asked then. 'It's not like it's going to change anything now.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right about that,' Sam agreed. They stayed in silence again for a while, but this time Dean broke it.

'Ah dammit, there went my carefree good mood,' he grumbled half-heartedly.

'No offense, but that was kinda creeping me out,' Sam admitted.

'My good mood?' Dean frowned again. Then picked up his plate and stood up, since he finished eating. 'Wow, that's real nice to hear, Sammy really. I did not know that my good mood was so creepy.'

'No, it's just… I just didn't get it.'

'Get what?'

'Why you would have a good mood after… y'know.' Dean turned and leaned to the kitchen-counter, crossing his arms over his chest.

'Run that by me again,' he said.

'Just… y'know, I woke up early, so I… heard… a little of… that.' Dean looked at him for a moment before it clicked.

'Oh… that. Right, you're getting the wrong idea… uh, okay. It's not like that. There's nothing weird going on, he's not hurting me or anything, so don't think that… hey, so that's why you were glaring?' he asked suddenly. Sam didn't answer, but Dean took his expression as confirmation. 'Okay, I get it now, should've said more about this before.'

Sam looked at his brother carefully. Not like he thought there would be a reason for him to lie, but Sam couldn't really believe what he was hearing right now.

'Sam, seriously. I doubt you wanna be talking about this, so just… It's nothing bad, okay? Not at all… it's actually pretty good,' he added a beat later.

'What?'

'What? It is, don't look at me like that,' Dean turned around and started loading the dirty dishes in the sink.

'How could it-'

'Okay, now I'm the one who doesn't want to talk about this. Just… don't go glaring at Gabriel, okay? Cause you don't have a reason to… cause it's good. There, I said it, it's good, it's un-freakin-believably awesome, my brain is leaking from my ears kinda awesome, and I like it, and not a word Sam. End of discussion.'

Sam just blinked for several minutes while Dean was cleaning up the counter.

'Bring your plate here if you finished breakfast,' his brother remarked. Sam really wanted to stop talking about this, but…

'So… is he going to… want me to…' he let it trail off, but the question was clear enough, because Dean turned back to him right away.

'What? No!' he said immediately.

'You sure? Did you ask?' Sam wanted to be relieved, because no matter what Dean said just now, this was something that was making him more than a little wary since yesterday.

'No,' Dean answered. 'But no.'

'Okay, how do you know?' Sam pressed.

'I just do. The answer is no, Sam. A definite no,' he emphasized. Sam did not fail to notice the tense set of his shoulders, nor the dark look on his face.

'Okay, fine,' Sam said. He hoped his brother was right, he really did. 'I got one more question thought.'

'Shoot,' Dean told him after a beat of silence.

'Do you know why he bought me then? If for nothing like that… I mean, it doesn't look like there's much work around the place.'

Dean stayed silent for a few moments, just piling up the dirty things that needed to be washed.

'Because I asked him to,' he said finally.

'Because you asked him to?' Sam asked right away.

'Yeah, I saw how you were treated, so I went to him and asked him to get you out of there, so he bought you.' Dean's voice was a lot quieter and even gentler than it was a moment ago, so it seemed like he was not uncomfortable talking about this.

'But why would he do that?'

'Do you know what day it was the day before yesterday?' Dean asked him. Sam had to think about it for a moment or two, before he remembered.

'Your birthday… are you serious, he bought me for your birthday? What, I'm like your present or something?'

'No, the present was him finding you and taking me there so I could see you,' Dean told him. 'The buying you off from that angel and all, that's just… just that. I asked him to.'

Sam stayed silent this time, thinking that once over in his mind a few times.

'Doesn't this make you… uneasy?' he asked carefully.

'Why would it?' his brother asked without turning back.

'Just… it doesn't make sense, you know. Why would he lift even a finger?' Dean sighed in reaction this time.

'I told you, I asked him and he did it, okay? There's nothing more to it, he's just… kind.'

'Kind? Dean, come on, he's the Prince of the Heavenly Court. Do you seriously think that he gives a crap about you or what you ask for?'

The moment he said it he realized that he should've maybe phrased that differently. The past years didn't do much good to his optimism and seeing his brother being this trustful towards a creature was sort of frightening.

'Show some gratitude, Sam,' Dean answered in a calm tone. 'And do the dishes,' he told him curtly and left the kitchen without another word. So that went well.

x-x-x


	9. Chapter 9

(9) April and May

x-x-x

'Your brother's been pushing it for too long now,' Gabriel said the moment Dean got into his room and closed the door behind himself. Dean stopped right away, his green eyes locking on Gabriel then away, his face sort of falling a bit right along with it.

'I am not demanding, I am not strict, nor cruel, but there's just things I don't tolerate.'

'I'm sorry,' Dean answered. And here was the problem.

'No, you have nothing to be sorry about, because you have done nothing,' Gabriel said as he took a few steps closer. 'Your brother is digging his hole all by himself, while you're trying to clean his mess up constantly.'

'He's just-'

'I'm not saying this as a threat, but you do realize that if he belonged to anyone else, anyone at all, he would be long dead, or worse?'

'I realize,' Dean said quietly. 'Gabriel, I'm sorry, I'm going to talk with him, okay?'

'You talked with him countless times,' Gabriel told him. 'Everyone has their limit, I am patient on occasion, very rare occasions, but now I have reached mine.'

He turned as he was undoing his cuffs, but wasn't actually surprised when Dean moved and got in front of him.

'Gabriel. I get it, okay? I really do, just please, I'm gonna fix this, I just..'

'Dean, no. I've been playing this game for three months. Your brother is incapable to behave even remotely decently. So I'm done.'

He let the finality in his tone be heard and it was loud and clear from the way Dean's face practically crumbled. Yes, so this was the problem.

Buying Sam was for Dean, obviously. Gabriel didn't need a second slave, but he felt generous. Dean was undoubtedly his favorite human after all. Hell, he liked him more than most angels and definitely more than any of the other creatures, that's for sure.

Everything started out a little bit bumpy between the brothers, but Dean was beyond happy and Gabriel could really appreciate Dean being happy and grateful, it made him very eager to please. Gabriel really really liked that. Then the brothers seemed to solve whatever minor differences they had at first and everything was just fine.

Gabriel still remembered one of the nights not long after he bought Sam. Dean was unbelievably feisty, made him come twice before he even started to slow down. It was mind-blowing, really, just reminded Gabriel why his human was so damn perfect. Of course it came out what it was all about.

'Sam said you're a… um, Heavenly Prince of sorts,' Dean said quietly after they were lying in the bed, exhausted.

'Sam has a big mouth,' Gabriel replied.

'So it's true?' Dean asked. Gabriel looked at him and hummed in confirmation. 'That's pretty awesome,' the human said. Gabriel had to laugh at that.

'Trust me, it's a very boring job on an average day,' Gabriel answered. Dean only stayed silent for a few moments.

'Sam was worried that… you would want him to be with you like I am, but I told him no, because it's no, right? Because you don't.' Gabriel turned to look at him, but Dean only hesitated for a moment before he continued. 'Because I'm enough… right?'

Gabriel had to smile when Dean said that, because that certainly was the most self-sufficient thing he's ever said to him, also the most demanding. He told him "yes" and it was the truth, he didn't even consider Sam like that. He also had to wonder whether Dean didn't want Gabriel to touch his brother or if he didn't want his brother to touch him. He should've asked, maybe it was both.

So it seemed like after the first minor bumps everything would be fine.

That's if Sam Winchester wasn't the single most defiant, irritating, smart ass little bitch Gabriel has ever encountered. He wasn't defiant and irritating for a reason, no, he did it by proxy. He knew what "rebellious" meant now. As obedient and grateful for even the small things Dean was, so disobedient and petulant was Sam.

Gabriel would've expected some fucking gratitude since he saved his sorry ass, but no. Sam Winchester was – by some cosmic joke that was played on Gabriel – the kind of human who was just not willing to accept that he was a slave. Which fine, he was stupid, it just got him punished and tossed from one place to the other for years. But the fact that he was so set on rebelling against his enslavement – and Gabriel – here, was simply mind-boggling. He was not beaten, he was fed well, clothed, had his own room, he had his brother back, and Gabriel did not demand anything besides the most basic respect.

No, he was still rebelling, because he was just that kind of an overgrown rebellious human, the bastard.

Normally Gabriel would have flown his ass to the worst place he could think of or would've taught him a lesson in fucking gratitude himself. But herein lay the problem: Dean.

Because it was Dean apologizing for his brother, he was the one making amends, taking the peacemaker role and doing his best to calm Gabriel down when he started to get pissed. Gabriel had a fucking hard time being angry at him, because again, he didn't do anything and even if he did, it was Dean. He was willing to let go of a lot of shit for Dean, but this had to end. And it would end now, because Gabriel had enough.

He was even justified. Sam Winchester was deliberately irritating; he was rebelling for the sake of rebelling. Nobody got away with acting and talking to Gabriel like this, nobody… besides Cas, but that was a whole different can of worms that he would not touch right now. Some brat human would not get away with it.

'Gabriel,' Dean said again. Gabriel really had to grow some defense shield against that tone; seriously, this was going to be troublesome.

'I'm not going to do anything to him, but he is leaving,' the archangel replied. Unsurprisingly, that did not make the heartbroken expression vanish from Dean's face. Go figure.

'But-'

Gabriel raised a hand. 'He's leaving, that is final. I'm giving him to Cas.'

Dean's expression shifted a little.

'Cas… you human rights, anti-slavery activist brother Cas?' Dean clarified. 'You sure you thought this one through there?'

'Don't get cute,' Gabriel warned, but his anger was already starting to fade. How in the world was Dean doing this? So unfair. 'I think my anti-slavery bro and your rebellious slave bro will get along just fine. No arguing, no pleading, no nothing, you understand me? Consider it a done deal. You can tell your brother to pack his stuff.'

Dean looked defeated and Gabriel hated that expression on his face too.

'Sure I can't change your mind?'

'Dean, nobody would've tolerated this kind of shit from a slave for this long,' Gabriel told him. 'I've given more than enough time for you to talk some sense into him or for him to realize what he was doing and where it would end. I'm done giving more time.'

Dean nodded a little.

'Am I going to see him again?' he asked.

'That is up to my brother. Go tell Sam to pack his things.'

'Ok,' Dean said quietly and left the room. Gabriel had to stop himself from saying "sorry", it was there on the tip of his tongue, but no, he was not the bad guy here. This was his home, his rules and Sam was his fucking slave too, he's the one who should've behaved.

He heard the brothers argue an hour later while he waited for Lily to connect to Azure, Castiel's house spirit. It was actually the first time he heard Dean yell.

'What exactly were you thinking where this would end, huh?' Dean asked. 'You seriously thought that you would just get away with this forever?'

'I don't care if I get away with it, Dean! If it's the only thing I can do in my fucking life, then I will do it!'

'Why?'

'Because I can't live like this Dean, I just can't! Maybe you're okay being someone else's tool or plaything, but I can't live my life being used and pushed around!'

'Who the hell was pushing you around here, huh? Who was using you?'

'This isn't about that!'

'It is exactly about that, Sam! Guess what, you're not the only one who had a horrible owner before, but going against Gabriel changes nothing! He's been nothing but good to us and you threw it back to his face!'

'He's a part of this Dean, they're all a part of this, they're all doing this, to us, to all of us!'

'Oh for fuck's sake! You wanna go freedom fighter against the whole world? Fine! But you know what you achieved with this? That we are going to be separated again! Because this was not enough for you! Because your fucking ideas are more important to you than sticking together, than having each other's back! That's what you fucking achieved! I wanted nothing more than to have you back, and Gabriel gave that to me, to us, and you tore it all the fuck apart and you don't care!'

'I care, Dean, I do!'

'Then you wouldn't have done this! Then you would've stopped after the hundredth time I asked you to!'

Gabriel didn't hear what Sam answered to that one, because it was too quiet for him to hear it from the living room. Besides, Azure finally appeared and quickly morphed into Castiel, who still did not look happy to see him.

x-x-x

Castiel agreed to come over the next day, because Gabriel obviously didn't tell him what this was about. After yelling at each other for a couple of hours yesterday Sam and Dean stopped arguing and went to bed. They seemed to have fallen into a silent, angry and sad sorta dynamic as of today. Last night Gabriel did not expect Dean to come back to his room to be honest, but he did. He said he got it that Gabriel had a right to be angry and that Sam's been a bitch for most of the time to him, but that he also didn't want to lose his brother forever. No matter how stupid he was and how much he lacked self-preservation instincts. Gabriel had only one thing to say to that. That Dean was not going to lose his brother forever, but if Sam stayed Gabriel would do something he most likely would not even regret.

So he didn't want Dean to hate him forever, that's why he didn't do it. But yeah, he had a limit, his limit was a long passed milestone that disappeared in the distance for quite a while now actually.

Castiel looked still exactly the same, what a surprise. Even the glare was firmly in place. As a matter of fact, it got even darker and ominous when he noticed Sam sitting on the couch.

'Oh, two slaves now. You're sinking lower,' was Castiel's way of saying hello. Gabriel let it go.

'Yes, I definitely do not need two slaves, you are absolutely correct, Cas. That's why I'm giving you Sam there.'

Castiel leveled him with a look.

'Let me see if I understand this correctly,' Cas started. 'You call me, saying that you want to work out our differences. Which I assumed would involve apologies, on your end of course. But for some reason you believe the right way to go, is to give me a slave?'

'There you go again with the tone that makes everything sound bad,' Gabriel exclaimed and Castiel glowered some more in reaction.

'Um, Castiel?' Dean stood up from the couch. 'Hey um, maybe I start talking here, you see this is my brother Sam.'

'Your brother?' Castiel repeated, then shut his eyes. 'Gabriel, I swear to all that's holy in the world… please, tell me you did not buy him because-'

'Oh, that's nice! Good to know you have such a high opinion of me,' he interrupted. He actually felt insulted. Why did everyone presume that he was a fucking pervert? Seriously.

'You contributed to that opinion greatly,' his brother replied. Which yeah, it stung, and was totally not justified.

'Cas.'

'Don't call me that,' Castiel interrupted. Gabriel just sighed. Fine, fucking fantastic.

'Okay, fine. No small talk. You take this fucking hell-spawn with you, because he's the exact same kind of nut job as you are. Only he's not my brother, so I'm not going to let him glare and make snide remarks anymore, because while I may not kill you for it, I may find it hard to restrain myself if it comes to him. So let's just avoid that, shall we? And I called you, Castiel, because I know that you will not treat him as a slave, which is exactly what he wants. Also, he will be probably more than happy to jump on your little anti-slavery crazy bandwagon. So you have an extra co-worker, while I get rid of the aforementioned hell-spawn, who will not be here to annoy me any longer. And just so you know, I don't think I actually care what kind of fucking opinions you have of me anymore, so you can just shove them up your ass. Everything clear? Great. We're done.'

He turned and walked out and up to his study, because he just had enough for today. Or more like for the whole week.

x-x-x

He didn't check how much time passed before Dean knocked on his door and got in.

'Nut job little brothers gone,' he said. The light tone was forced, but Gabriel appreciated the sentiment.

'Good,' Gabriel answered, not looking up from his book. So he didn't actually read it, but whatever.

'I told Sam that he can only visit when you're not home, that okay?'

'Fine,' Gabriel said.

'Castiel said I could go over to his place whenever I wanted. I didn't know he lived only two corners away.'

'Yes, he used to want to be close to me,' Gabriel told him. Dean walked closer until he was standing by the desk.

'He's still angry at you for owning me,' Dean said.

'Pretty much,' Gabriel agreed, because yeah it summed it up sorta, some of it anyways.

'I'm not,' Dean said. Gabriel finally put the book down to look up at him and was surprised by the lips sealing on his mouth. 'I like belonging to you,' the human said after he pulled away.

Again, all his anger… gone. Without a trace. How was he doing that? Unbelievable.

x-x-x

Dean was out on the balcony and he decided there and then that he's going to burn the stupid bedroom rugs. They were a bitch to keep clean and he got real nasty rug burns from them more times than he cared to count. Yep, he was gonna burn them, he hated them, like really freakin' hated every single one. Maybe he could get some fur rug thingies instead, fur was soft, right? Or he could learn how to reach the bed before they stumbled down to a more horizontal position… no, not that, sex on the floor was fast and dirty and impossibly hot… hmm… just thinking about it made his dick twitch and his hole clench in a very pleasant way. He should jump Gabriel when he got home, carpet burns be damned. The archangel never turned him down. In fact, it just turned him on more if Dean initiated anything. Oh and that was good, if he was really turned on he just did not rest until Dean was incoherent and reduced to nothing but moans, or even screams. He never knew he could sound like that seesh, but nothing ever felt as good as being with Gabriel.

He almost jumped out of his skin, gripping the balcony rail as he took a step back when Sam and Cas were suddenly right there next to him.

'Hello Dean,' Castiel greeted first.

'Dammit,' he cursed. He was used to sudden arrivals and departures, but at least Gabriel had the common sense to show up more than a foot away so that he didn't scare the crap out of him. 'You are supposed to call before showing up,' Dean said, heading inside again, his brother and the angel following.

'Gabriel's never home around this time,' Sam said.

'You'd be surprised. Don't blame me if you fly in on something you would rather not see the next time,' Dean answered. Mentioning Gabriel and sex in any combination, however subtly, guaranteed a Sam glower and it was there right away this time too. Dean finally managed to get him to stop holding his heartfelt speeches about how no matter how good or happy Dean felt, he was actually not good or happy, he just believed he was. It hurt Dean's head just trying to keep up with any of it, it was also annoying.

'We just don't see things the same way, Sam. You said it yourself,' Dean told him one afternoon. It was one of Sam's main arguments when Dean tried to get him to stop pissing off Gabriel. That they just "don't look at the world and their lives in the same way". It actually felt good to say it back to him, because it was frustrating that he was incapable to get his little brother to change his constant rebel mindset.

He admitted that he hated it when Gabriel threw Sam out, but it turned out to be okay. Sam didn't look constantly angry now, he was in full-blown fighting spirit mostly, which the A.S.M. allowed him to harness to all his heart's content. Dean didn't hear about anything but the movement for the past few weeks. All the plans and petitions and protests and whatever the hell, turned out it was more politics than anything, which Sam dove into with full force. Dean swore his eyes were sparkling when he talked about working with everybody, how his job mattered, his words, how all those who worked along Castiel treated him like an equal from the first day and so on and on.

Dean was happy for him, he really was, but he was a simple guy. He didn't have such grand, wild dreams like Sam. He was content that by some miracle he got this much good in his life already, that after almost thirty years of crap he had it good now. Sorry no, it wasn't good, he just thought it was or some shit. He was never going to understand how he wasn't happy when he was happy. It didn't make any sense to him, Sam gave up on explaining.

'So, what's the occasion?' he asked. Sam came by a lot when he wasn't working during the day, but Cas rarely accompanied him. He and Gabriel were still not on speaking terms. It bugged Dean, since he was fine, why the hell were others mad on his behalf? Sam told him that it was not him specifically Castiel was mad about, that this was a matter of principle. Well, Dean didn't understand much about principles, but he knew that if Gabriel wouldn't have bought him he would be dead by now. His brother would be still suffering at that dick angel's house and so on. So Gabriel didn't deserve all the shit his brother was giving him, principle or no principle.

Castiel walked to the fireplace without saying a word and touched Lily's skull, calling the spirit out.

'Well, just the biggest development in our cause,' Sam said as he sat down.

'How may I be of assistance?' Lily asked right away as she materialized.

'Connect to London Citadel,' Castiel told her.

'Ok, seriously. What's happening?' Dean asked with a frown.

'The new God King, Vishnu is going to make an announcement shortly,' Castiel told him. 'We have very good reasons to believe that he's going to publicly declare that he stands by the Human Rights bill of the A.S.M.'

'Human Rights bill?' Dean asked.

'The movement has been waiting for the right opportunity to present this bill, but the former God King Odin was more than okay with slavery, so he wouldn't have taken a glance at it,' Sam told him. Dean sat down too, listening.

'The bill itself is a detailed document that contains every single right we think humans should have. The most important part of course is that it declares that every single human being has the right for freedom.'

'So, if it becomes law, slavery will turn illegal,' Sam finished. Dean's eyes widened at the words and he stared at his brother and the angel for a moment.

'Seriously?' he asked in disbelief.

'So if Vishnu stands by the bill the legislature will have to gather to pass or reject it. This is a great development.'

'It's starting,' Sam told them and both Dean and Castiel turned towards the projected image.

Dean didn't ask anymore questions, just listened. Both Sam and Castiel were staring intensely, his brother was practically vibrating next to him. Dean had absolutely no idea what to think. Was that even possible, to make humans free? It sounded like nonsense, something people dreamed about, the naïve ones, or that's how Dean always thought. That the moment one thought about it rationally they would realize that is was just not going to happen, ever, it was impossible.

The God King held a speech and Castiel was right. The second it left his mouth that he was taking the bill in front of the legislature of the Five Worlds Sam jumped up from the couch with a triumphant shout and even the always somber Castiel smiled. Dean was just gaping in utter disbelief.

'What are the chances for the bill to pass?' Dean asked after Sam quieted down a little.

'Not that good actually. The legislature are the leaders themselves,' Castiel started to explain. 'Vishnu is a definite "yes", so that is one vote, but unfortunately probably both the King of Hell, Crowley and the Auberon, the King of Fairies are a definite "no".'

'Yes, but there's a chance for Eve to vote "yes", right?' Sam asked. Castiel hummed in a considering manner.

'She is rather unpredictable, but the Purgatorians own the smallest number of slaves, so it's probably nothing of import to her. It is hard to tell. She greatly dislikes Crowley, so there is a chance that she will vote against him just to anger him, but not much.'

The brothers listened to Castiel's explanation. It was rather obvious that he was not done yet.

'There is a small chance,' the angel settled on finally. 'She's not the key figure in this anyway. No bill can pass unless it's sanctioned by Heaven, so even if there would be three or four votes supporting it, it still could be rejected. This is a problem, since angels are the leading slave-owners on Earth. Even more so because of whom we're talking about here.'

'Wait a minute, so… that's why you're here?' Dean asked, finally realizing. 'Gabriel's in this legislature thing?'

'Yes,' Castiel replied. 'He is the Angel of Judgment. He's the one making every single decision in the name of Heaven if it is an external affair. Michael is Heaven's warlord, he's the supreme general, who commands the entire host in case of war, while Raphael is internal affairs, he's the one making the decisions within Heaven and regarding angels. Gabriel has Earth as his domain, he equals Heaven here, and his word is law.'

'Wow, that's… huge,' Dean said.

'It also means that he is the head of the legislature,' Castiel continued. 'He's the one making the final decision if there are two votes against two, and he's the one who has to sanction laws before they can be enacted.'

'Which means that he can either make it happen or tear it to pieces,' Sam said. 'That's fucking unfair, why does he get to have more rights than the other leaders?'

'Because Heaven would be able to burn down the four other worlds in a heartbeat, so they just have to accept that we have certain privileges.'

All three of them whipped around and stared at Gabriel who appeared in the living room. His face was stormy. He was not in a good mood Dean could tell.

x-x-x


	10. Chapter 10

(10) May

x-x-x

'Hey, welcome back,' Dean greeted as he stood up from the couch, while both Castiel and Sam just kept looking at Gabriel for a moment.

'What do you want here?' Gabriel asked after that moment passed. He looked pissed, more than a little.

'I came to talk with you,' Castiel answered, completely unfazed by the archangel's mood.

'About?' Gabriel asked.

'About Vishnu's bill, obviously,' the angel said and Gabriel snorted.

'Yes, obviously. Well, I don't see how there is anything to talk about,' Gabriel told him.

'There is very much to talk about, Gabriel. And you will hear me out.'

'Or what?' the archangel challenged. 'I have nothing to talk to you about, so we won't talk.'

With that he started walking across the room, but the other angel stood in his way with a determined expression on his face.

'Gabriel, this is important,' he said.

'Yes, but I fail to see how it is any of your business.'

'I took that bill to Vishnu, I wrote about eighty percent of it. It is my business,' Castiel told him. Dean couldn't see Gabriel's face now as he had his back to him and Sam, but he could guess.

'I'm sorry, are you maybe one of the rulers of the Five Worlds, or did you magically become an archangel all of a sudden? No. So this is not your business, and you most definitely have no right to discuss any of it with me.'

'I'm your brother.'

Gabriel did not reply immediately, but after a second or so the room just became heavy. Dean couldn't put his finger on it how, it just felt overpowering, like the way water-pressure felt like the deeper you sank. Castiel's face shifted a little, less stern and determined, more cautious.

'My brother? Oh… so now you're my brother again?' Gabriel started talking. His voice quiet, but all too audibly full with anger. 'You fight me and treat me like scum, cutting all ties, refusing to even talk. But now, the second there's something important to you in my hands, you come here. And you dare to pull the brother card?' Gabriel took a step closer to the other angel. And while Castiel did not take a step back, it looked like he wanted to. 'Let me tell you something, Castiel. This is not how it fucking works! You don't get to act the way you did then come to me when you need me to do something for you. And yes, I know, you think I'm just some spoiled, immature brat… but guess what? This spoiled, immature brat will be the one to decide, whether you like it or not.'

'This is too important for you to refuse to talk with me based on personal problems,' Castiel told him.

'Well, I guess I'm just that petty,' Gabriel answered in a very unkind tone.

'So what? You're just going to refuse to talk about the most important law for humanity, because you're having a hissy fit?' Sam burst out in anger jumping up from the couch and Dean was sure his heart stopped when he did. No, this was bad, this was going to end very very badly.

Gabriel sort of just froze for a moment, while Castiel's blue gaze shifted over to Sam. Dean felt how that sense of pressure increased in the room, how the temperature rose in a second and he was absolutely sure it was Gabriel. This presence around him grew and extended, filling up the space. He turned slowly to look back at Sam. His eyes literally glowing, a burning gold light in their depths Dean saw before. That time the power flared up to heal his brother, this time thought Gabriel's face was furious.

'Gabriel!' called Castiel when the archangel turned fully and moved. Dean did too, getting in his way before he could get to his brother. Damn Sam, for never knowing when to shut his mouth.

'Gabriel, please-' Dean started right away, reaching out to calm him a little. Gabriel grabbed his forearm before he could touch him, his angry eyes shifting to his face. It hurt, pain flared up where Gabriel's fingers dig into his skin, but Dean gritted his teeth, not making a sound. The fire did die out in Gabriel's eyes a moment later when they looked at each other and he also let go of Dean. His face was just as angry as before, but at least not unnaturally so.

'Not now, Dean,' he practically growled. Dean didn't say anything, but stayed there standing between him and Sam, hoping that his brother had enough common sense not to speak a word or do anything. Gabriel looked back at Castiel.

'I have things to attend to. You two better not be here when I get back,' was all he said then he was gone. The rustling sound that accompanied an angel's departure was a lot louder this time and Dean could feel some wind on his skin, the curtains also moved heavily from it.

'Ah, fucking hell,' Dean hissed out, clutching his forearm.

'Dean, you okay?' Sam rushed to him.

'No, I'm not fucking okay! Because you two are fucking morons,' he growled. His arm hurt like a bitch and after he removed his hand he saw that the shape of Gabriel's hand, including all five fingers, appeared on his skin. Not a bruise, but a burn, the skin red and angry where the archangel touched him.

'What the hell?' Sam stared at the wound.

'I'll deal with it, you two just get the hell out before Gabriel gets back,' Dean said and headed to the bathroom to run some cold water on the burn. He knew Gabriel could do things. Things other angels couldn't, but this was the first unpleasant one he encountered.

Sam was of course following.

'No, this is… what the hell, how did he burn you like this? Let me help.' Dean didn't need help tending to a wound like this, so he didn't let him. It was not a bad burn, it's not like there were blisters or the skin started to peel off, it just hurt.

'I can deal with it. Just go, seriously.'

'Why are you not angry?' Sam asked incredulously, still hovering behind him.

'I am angry, but unlike you I can keep myself in check, that's how I don't get in trouble… normally.' The cold water was doing a load of good for his wound. Sam was sort of glaring before his face became remorseful.

'I'm sorry, I should've kept my mouth shut, you're right.'

'That was indeed very unwise, Sam,' Castiel's voice sounded and the brothers turned to look at him. He was standing by the bathroom door. 'And Dean, I thought you would know better after this much time, not to get in Gabriel's way when he's truly angry.'

'I never saw him this pissed before,' Dean said. Castiel frowned at him.

'Never?'

'I mean sure, he was sometimes grumpy when he got home and he got angry when Sam started annoying him, but never like this, definitely not the glowing, burning kinda angry.'

'That's… unusual. Gabriel's very temperamental. I remember something like this happening almost daily.'

'Well, I guess I just don't fucking piss him off the way you do,' Dean snapped.

'I am fighting for your kind,' Castiel said.

'Well, you're fighting in the wrong place. Gabriel doesn't deserve the fucking attitude, not from either of you.'

'He just fucking burned you, Dean!' Sam exclaimed.

'Because you can't hold your tongue even if your life depended on it,' Dean replied. He took his arm out from under the water and walked by Sam then Castiel to get his little med kit. It didn't have much more in it than bandages, but sometimes he cut his finger with a knife and other small things so it was good to have stuff like that around.

'How the hell did he do this?' Sam asked as he kept staring at the wound.

'He's an archangel,' Castiel answered, he was also still following him then.

'And? I thought that was just a title,' Sam answered.

'No, it's more than that,' the angel said. 'Archangels are… different.'

'Different how?' Sam asked, he had a frown on his face again and he finally shifted his gaze away from Dean.

'They just are, from the moment of their birth. Most notable difference is that they have three pair of wings instead of one, like regular angels. That's how we know if an angel is born as an archangel. They grow up to be a lot more powerful as well, in all regards. They usually also display abilities no other angel has. While an average angel has no other powers besides flight, strength and regeneration, Michael is basically invulnerable and can summon fire, Raphael can create electric storms and cast lightning, Gabriel's always been rather subtle about his powers, but he certainly has an overwhelming presence, the gift of magic and…' he gestured at Dean's wound. 'He burns as brightly as the sun if he wants to.'

'That's damn terrifying,' Sam said. 'Lucky there's only three of them.'

'There's been more before and surely there will be again, whenever a new angel is born there is a possibility for them to be born as archangels.'

Dean was bandaging his arm, not commenting on it. He knew that Gabriel was not just destructive power, that he could heal too, but probably he was not allowed to speak of it for a reason. He had no idea what that reason was though.

Sam had that considering face of his on. 'What are we going to do now?' he asked. 'About the voting in the legislature?' he clarified.

'I doubt there is much to do,' Castiel admitted. 'Gabriel's too angry with me to discuss the matter.'

'Yes, he's fucking pissed at you, and you still think that's only bad because it harms your bill?' Dean asked. 'Because I don't think that's the reason why that should bother you.'

'This is a complicated matter. Gabriel and I have fundamental differences about the most basic of things,' the angel replied. Dean just shook his head. He didn't actually know what to say to that. It seemed impossible for him not to do whatever he could for his brother no matter if they had differences or not. Okay not everything, but almost everything. So Castiel thinking this very differently was something he had trouble wrapping his mind around.

'Which leaves, Dean,' Sam said.

'What?' he frowned at his brother.

'Gabriel will not be willing to talk with me or Castiel, so you have to get him to stand behind the bill somehow.'

Dean looked at his brother for a few moments, not believing that he was serious. He was, because he just kept looking back at Dean.

'Forget it,' he replied.

'Don't you get what's at stake here?' Sam asked.

'I do,' Dean answered.

'So you have to help us out here. You're with him more than anyone. You could have a real shot at persuading him.'

'Sam's right,' Castiel said.

'And I'm saying it again: fucking forget it,' Dean said.

'Dean! Don't you get-'

'Sam, shut up. I'm not getting into this. I'm no world leader, no politician, no nothing. I'm not going to try and tell Gabriel what he's supposed to do.'

'This is about our freedom, Dean!' Sam insisted.

'No,' Dean said again.

'So you're okay with staying a slave?' Sam asked.

'It is not up to me,' Dean answered.

'Dean, I think it would be wise to-' Castiel spoke up.

'If anyone tries to tell him what to do again, he's just going to get even more pissed,' Dean looked over to the angel.

'Yes, I'm afraid you're right about that,' he answered. That finally seemed to convince Sam too, so he didn't press it more.

x-x-x

It was very late by the time Gabriel could go back to his residence. There were too many beings wanting to get his attention and tell him what they thought about the Human Rights bill. This was going to go on until the voting. He was tempted to ward his place and hide until it was time for it, because he was not looking forward to everyone giving their opinions.

The apartment was silent and dark when he arrived, only the lights in his bedroom were on. He walked in, shrugging off his jacket on his way. He stopped abruptly by the door when he noticed Dean sitting on the bed. He did not expect him to be up and waiting.

'Hey, welcome back,' he greeted as usual. A lot quieter than normal though and without the smile Gabriel came to like seeing.

'You should've gone to sleep,' he said.

'I didn't know whether I should,' the human answered. Which was bullshit, because Dean knew all too well that he didn't have to wait up for him if he came home late.

'And what is your real reason?' he asked as he kicked off his shoes. He really hoped his brother and Sam "hell-spawn" Winchester did not put Dean up for something. He really had enough of the topic for today and he would be pissed if his Dean was going to suddenly jump on the big anti-slavery train. Not like it wouldn't make sense, since he was a slave, so he surely wanted to be free, right? Did he? Gabriel would've guessed that he was content enough with his life to be okay with belonging to him. He said he liked belonging to him, so why would he want to be free then?

'I just wanted to know whether you were angry at me,' Dean said. Gabriel stopped and looked at him again.

'I was not angry at you to begin with,' he told him, but then his eyes fell on the bandage on Dean's forearm and it made his chest feel too tight in a very unpleasant way. Yeah, he was not angry at him, but he still fucking hurt him, when he didn't even want to hurt him, he never wanted… dammit. He dropped his jacket and walked closer, descending down to the floor by his side. Dean startled a little, obviously surprised, but he didn't move away. Gabriel took his hand, the one where the bandage was. Dean let him, still trusting, not hesitant at all, but just a little bit more tense than before.

Gabriel reached out to the bandage and slowly started to unwrap it. Dean winced in pain when it was down and Gabriel sighed, leaning forward and resting his forehead on Dean's chest, not letting go of his hand though.

'Gabriel?' Dean questioned, adorably confused. Well, a bunch of things were adorable about him, for Gabriel anyways.

'I'm sorry,' he said.

Dean stayed silent for only a moment. 'What?' he asked quietly. Gabriel leaned back to look up at him.

'I'm sorry for hurting you,' he repeated. Dean just stared back at him with a very surprised expression on his face, clearly not expecting that. Gabriel entwined their fingers and pulled a little on his arm, then leaned down and kissed the wound. He hated it, it had to be gone. A spark of grace was all he needed. He let his power flow from him to the human, healing the burn and soothing the pain away. He drew back again after he was done, seeing the skin unharmed easing up some of the unpleasant feeling in his stomach, but not all of it.

He dragged his lips away from the spot the wound has been a moment ago, leaving a trail of soft kisses on Dean's skin, until he reached the back of his hand, he let his lips linger there for a moment before he pulled away to look up at his human. Dean was staring at him, obviously trying to figure out what to do or how to react. Gabriel's never been too gentle with him save their first kisses when he actually wanted to entice him. Later not so much, playful yes, never too rough, but nothing like this. He liked having Dean in his space, liked when the human was curled up close around him, lying flush by his side or even with his head in his lap, but that was different. Gabriel liked that, having his human's warmth so close to his body, touching his skin, running his fingers thought his hair, mostly after sex. He wasn't even sure how to label it, why he liked doing it, maybe it was somewhere between possessiveness and praising.

He let go of Dean's hand as he moved closer to him. The human shifted his legs apart as he was sitting to allow Gabriel to get close. The archangel put one hand on the bed next to Dean's leg, the other he slid around Dean's waist to rest it on the small of his back. He put a kiss on his neck, right below his ear. He moved slowly, like Dean would pull back if he moved too fast, even if Gabriel knew he wouldn't. He let his lips linger on his skin, breathing in deeply then pulling away again, resting his forehead on Dean's shoulder. He didn't know how to make this unpleasant feeling go away. He had his Dean, healed him even, his angry act of violence corrected, right? Why didn't it feel like it?

Dean shifted next to him, moving his arm and then Gabriel felt his fingers sliding in his hair. Gabriel liked it if he did that, he liked his hair being played with in general, it felt good, and Dean knew he liked it.

'Gabriel?' Dean's voice was quiet, slightly questioning. He probably didn't know what he was supposed to do. But that was just it, he wasn't supposed to do anything right now.

'I won't hurt you again,' Gabriel promised, saying the words without even thinking about them. There was silence between them for a few moments then. 'Which of course you don't believe… have no reason to believe,' Gabriel said. He probably broke whatever trust Dean had in him with his damn temper.

'No, I believe you,' Dean said, but it sounded way too false for Gabriel's ears. But it's not like he could get the truth. Did he want to hear it? What was the truth anyway? That Dean may not fight or pull away from him, but he will be cautious, at least a little, wondering when Gabriel might loose his temper again, maybe doing more damage than he did this time. Gabriel was wondering about the same thing, he had a bad temper, had a lot worse before he bought Dean.

'Do you believe that I did not mean to hurt you?' he asked then. Dean paused before he answered.

'Yeah, I do,' he said. This time Gabriel couldn't tell whether it was the truth or not. He moved and pushed Dean backwards a little. The human reacted and scooted up on the bed, lying down after Gabriel climbed after him. He let his hand slide up on his hip to his stomach, pushing the t-shirt up. Dean pulled it over his head and tossed it aside. The human moved to reach out, but Gabriel put a hand on his chest and stopped him, pushing him back to the bed slowly, locking his eyes on the green ones looking back at him. Dean stayed down after that.

Gabriel did everything slowly, exploring his skin with his hands and mouth, removing the last of Dean's clothes. He watched how arousal was building up in a slow burn in the human's body, how his skin was growing warmer, his breathing faster and how his dick was filling up with blood. The archangel was slow and thorough. Dean may have figured out all of Gabriel's sweet spots, where he liked to be touched and how, but Gabriel surely knew his human's body just as well. He always loved taking him apart, watching him as he got hot and needy. Gabriel liked feeling wanted like this. The movements of Dean's body when he was wrung tight with pleasure as his voice became more and more breathless and louder, how his words got filthier and wanton. There was nothing more gorgeous to Gabriel's eyes, nothing more pleasing to his ears.

They were quiet this time though. Gabriel was and Dean stayed silent with him, it was new. Every breath, every small sound, the rustling of the sheets, the way Gabriel's lips slid on Dean's skin, all seemed loud in the room like this.

Dean's breath picked up for a while now and the more time Gabriel spent exploring his body the quicker it got. And Gabriel explored, he kissed, licked, bit every inch of skin, deliberately spending more time on the really sensitive spots, like the right side of Dean's neck, the inside of his elbow, his left nipple. Dean was completely hard by the time Gabriel actually started to move down from his upper-body. He spent quite some time on his hipbones until there were small sounds falling from Dean's lips while both his hands were clenched tightly in the sheets. Gabriel loved the sounds, so he moved even lower.

Dean's breath hitched as his hips shifted when he moved, Gabriel stroked his stomach as he inched closer.

'G..Gabriel,' Dean choked out. He sounded so endearingly confused and breathtakingly aroused.

Gabriel shushed him then moved even lower and licked at the soft skin of Dean's straining cock languidly. The human let out a long groan, his hips moving a little as his grip in the sheets tightened.

'Wha.. what are you.. Gabriel?' he panted out. The angel shushed him again before running his tongue along the hardened flesh again. Dean let out another delicious sound that just turned Gabriel on even more without the human having to touch him. He was so… Gabriel had to hear more. He planned to drag this out more, but Dean was so wonderfully debauched, his dick even harder and leaking at the tip. Gabriel put a hand on his hip and swallowed him down, taking him in his mouth almost completely.

Dean cried out loudly, his hips only staying still because Gabriel held him down. His hand moved and grabbed onto Gabriel's head, his fingers twisting in his hair.

'Oh fuck… oh.. fuck! Gabriel.. Ga.. ah!' Dean had his eyes shut and was panting hard, Gabriel should've done this to him sooner, the noises alone were making him fully hard. Dean panting his name like this, breathlessly in pleasure, it was one of his favorite things, nothing sounded better.

He started to move and Dean was gone. He was moaning and cursing and repeating Gabriel's name, his fingers still tight in the archangel's hair, his hips twitching and barely staying still despite Gabriel holding him down. Gabriel kept going, sucking and even humming around the length, making his human cry out some more.

'Gabriel… ah… fuck, ah fuck, I'm gonna come… Gabriel… hnnnng.' He pulled on Gabriel's hair a little, wanting to drag him away, but the angel stayed, even let go of Dean's hips, no longer preventing him from moving. Dean stayed in place for a few moments, but as soon as he was getting too close he could not keep himself still any longer. He thrust up into Gabriel's mouth a few times, getting his dick even deeper, then he was coming. His spine arched up from the bed as he moaned out Gabriel's name loudly.

Gabriel pulled off after Dean slumped back to the bed. He crawled up his body to capture his lips before Dean opened his eyes again. His human moaned deliciously into the kiss, returning it with heat, albeit a little slowly, still hazy from his orgasm. Gabriel kissed him long and deep, holding his face with both of his hands and keeping their bodies close.

He was hard, but he ignored it, he just enjoyed the feel of Dean's lips on his own and the way he could feel the human's heart beating. He let go after some time and the green eyes opened almost immediately when he did. Dean stared up at him wordlessly for a moment, before reaching up and sliding his fingers in his hair, straightening out the messed up locks, putting them back in order where he twisted and yanked on his hair. His eyes followed the movements of his fingers. Gabriel watched him, all the tiny details he liked, his lips and chin, his freckles and his nose, his eyes and eyelashes, hell, he liked everything.

'Do you really want to be rid of me?' he asked. Dean stopped and looked back at him.

'What?' he asked, frowning.

'The law… do you really want to be free and be rid of me?' Gabriel asked again. He didn't treat him bad, he really didn't, surely he didn't hate being here.

'This isn't about me, Gabriel,' Dean answered after a beat of silence.

'You're a slave, of course it's about you,' Gabriel told him.

'No, I… I really am not good for speaking about huge things like this,' his human said.

'Speak anyway,' Gabriel prompted. Dean sighed and looked away for a moment.

'It's not about me, because I have it good,' Dean answered, looking back at him. 'Really good, there's actually nothing I could think of that I'm missing, I'm not like Sam, this is enough, I'm good… I… this is about those boys.'

'What boys?' Gabriel frowned.

'The ones who were sold right before me back in Denver,' Dean said. 'The brothers I went head-on against demons for… and the thousand others like them… it's about that demon that wanted to buy me and all the slaves he owns or ever owned, it's all about the other people who belong to demons like him or the kind of angel Sam belonged to. It's about those fucking factories every slave fears… it's… I'm okay, I… I'm happy… really, so it's not about me. It's about everyone else.'

Gabriel looked at him for a moment, then he finally rolled off of him, settling on the bed. Dean moved, followed the movement, rising up to his elbow to be able to look down at the angel.

'You are fine, your brother is too. Everyone else… they're strangers to you. Why do you even care?' Gabriel asked. With humans, the way Gabriel saw it, it was everyone for themselves. He saw it countless times, one human willing to sell out the other, willing to do horrible things even just to save their own skin.

Dean looked away again, thinking about it.

'I don't know,' he answered then.

'You don't know?' Gabriel questioned.

'I don't… I just do,' Dean shrugged.

'You care… so… that means what? You'd be willing to help them if it's not too much bother? Or stand up for them if you can? Or would you even make sacrifices?'

'I don't know… depends on what I had to sacrifice I think,' Dean answered. He never thought about this, Gabriel could tell, nor were these questions ever asked of him.

'What about putting them above yourself? That's what a real sacrifice is, isn't it? Would you sacrifice yourself for them? Would you give up on ever being free for the sake of freeing others?'

'Yes,' Dean answered immediately this time.

'Are you sure?' Gabriel asked.

'I'm sure, it's a no-brainer,' the human told him.

'And if you didn't belong to me? If you belonged to someone bad, like that white demon that had his eyes on you? What then?'

'Still,' Dean said. No hesitation, none at all. 'Same answer.'

Gabriel looked at him long and hard, but was sure that the human was honest, that he meant it. It stunned Gabriel for a moment, not expecting the answer.

'Why did you ask me this?' Dean questioned this time, his expression searching. Gabriel reached out and pulled the human down next to his body.

'I think you deserved to tell your opinion, unlike your brother… or my brother for that matter.'

Dean didn't reply, but slid closer and Gabriel fell asleep to the feel of his warm body pressed up close to his. That was one of his very favorite things.

x-x-x


	11. Chapter 11

(11) June

x-x-x

Dean expected the weeks before the voting to be tense. He was wrong. Gabriel stayed a lot more at home than before. There were days he literally didn't go anywhere. After the second day of Lily appearing every three minutes saying that someone wanted to speak with Gabriel, the archangel told her that she was not to connect to any spirit, unless it was Enoch, whoever the hell that was.

It was kinda strange to have Gabriel around this much, but not in a bad way. It was different and maybe tiring, in a good way though. Something changed, but Dean couldn't really put a finger on it. It was the small things he noticed, like Gabriel sneaking up on him and biting his neck, laughing in delight if Dean jumped in surprise or yelped. All the times he dragged Dean down to the couch to just kiss him breathless. And okay the sex, more precisely a lot of sex, Dean was ready to admit that he had a hand in that one too. There were days when Gabriel got back to his place and he greeted with a smile and his casual "Hey there, big boy", and Dean just had to walk closer and wrap his body around the archangel's. Maybe it was the sight of him, how his amber eyes smiled not just his lips. Maybe it was the way he could make Gabriel moan in pleasure just as fast as the angel could make him lose his mind.

Some days he just had this itching under his skin when he just had to tear down clothes and devour, it was a constantly consuming heat in the pit of his belly. He had nothing else to do but whisper his need into Gabriel's ear, sometimes a filthy confession, sometimes nothing but the plainly outspoken truth, and the archangel was taking, conquering him. Bent him over, pushed him down, filled him up and pacified this screaming want inside. And it was screaming alright, for the fire in Gabriel's eyes, for the strong, tight grip of his hands, his skillful mouth and clever tongue, for the feel of his thick, hot length inside. Dean knew it then, it would've been hard to deny, he should've realized it sooner, he wanted this. It wasn't just something Gabriel wanted that Dean didn't mind doing, because it brought him pleasure. He really wanted it. Dean liked it, he honestly, truly enjoyed it. He craved it even, not just the pleasure itself, but probably Gabriel too.

He especially enjoyed the days they barely got out of bed, because those were hot and lazy and comfortable. Maybe Dean was wrong, but Gabriel seemed glad to just keep him close. Maybe he imagined it, maybe the look on Gabriel's face meant something else, it's not like anyone has ever been simply just happy to have him around. Even Sam needed more from life; just having him back was not enough for him. Ok, yeah he was definitely wrong about this one, Gabriel was just pleased with him. He knew Gabriel desired him, but beyond that, his owner was a riddle, it was hard to figure out what was going through his head.

They didn't speak a word about the bill again and since Gabriel was home mostly Dean told his brother right at the start that he shouldn't come over for a while. Not like he didn't want to see Sam, he just didn't want anything happening to him. Sam had a bad case of righteous fury within him that he couldn't keep under wraps, nor could he keep his mouth shut. Gabriel really had a bad temper and the topic of the Human Rights bill was a touchy one. Dean was lucky that he could actually calm him down to a level, but his brother did not have that privilege. So yeah, Sam and Gabriel ending up in the same room again, not a good idea in any shape or form.

Castiel didn't come by either, not until the day of the voting, and even then only after Gabriel was gone. How he knew when the archangel left was a mystery to Dean. Sam appeared right along with the blue-eyed angel only like 15 minutes after Gabriel vanished.

'What a surprise,' Dean said looking them over.

'Good to see you too, Dean,' Sam said without commenting on the greeting. 'Everything's been okay?'

'Yeah, awesome,' Dean told him. He did not bother to start convincing Sam, his brother never believed that he was telling the truth about this. 'So you wanna watch the voting from here?' he asked. 'Don't you have other places to be?'

'Regardless of the result of the voting, I want to be able to talk with Gabriel,' Castiel said. Dean shrugged, it was not his place to get into the argument between Gabriel and Cas.

'Fine by me, anyone wants a beer or some snacks for this?'

'You seriously want to snack while the most important decision in our lives is made?' Sam asked incredulously.

'Yeah, why not,' Dean shrugged again. He wasn't nervous about any of this. Sure, he was curious how it would end, but nothing more.

Sam just shook his head as he settled on the couch, while Castiel called Lily out from her skull.

'Dean,' Castiel called his name before he could turn and leave to get something from the kitchen. 'Do you have maybe any idea how Gabriel might decide?' he asked and Sam's eyes locked on Dean's face too immediately, his little brother waiting for his answer with rapt attention.

'Honestly? No clue,' he told them. It was the truth. They only talked about it once and even after that night Dean had no idea what Gabriel thought about the whole thing, what his questions meant. Dean answered as honestly as he could, but he didn't know whether they had any effect or not, probably none at all. Besides, basically he told the angel that he didn't mind being a slave, he only talked about others. But the thing was that Gabriel didn't seem to care about others all that much. So Dean didn't have any idea what his decision would be.

x-x-x

'Gabriel, a word please,' came the smooth deep tone from behind him.

'Crowley,' he greeted the King of Hell.

'You've been… disconcertingly quiet in the past weeks,' the demon started. 'Auberon and I both tried to contact you several times.'

'And so did hundreds of other creatures, Crowley,' Gabriel answered simply.

'Auberon's been worried. I assured him that since you're a slave owner yourself there is nothing to discuss, nor anything to worry about. Am I right?' Gabriel narrowed his eyes a little. 'I asked around,' Crowley answered nonchalantly with a slight smile.

'Well, you will find out soon enough, won't you?' the archangel asked. The demon took a step closer, his face still carefully schooled.

'Do not play games with me, angel,' he said quietly. Gabriel did not back off, even leaned a little closer. He had no height advantage, but unlike humans, a demon could feel what he was, how much power there was underneath skin and flesh.

'I am Heaven here. I owe no answer to anyone,' he said equally quietly. 'Especially not you.' He didn't care about Crowley or Auberon, definitely not about what they thought. He was pleasantly surprised that Michael and Raphael did not contact him. It was a freakin' miracle, but it seemed like the other two archangels trusted his judgment. They were the only ones so it seemed.

'You are well aware of the possible consequences, or I very much hope you are,' Crowley answered with an angry hiss then he walked away without another word.

Gabriel was really fucking fed up that he was only ever taken seriously when he was doing at least some fiery rain and kicking asses. Okay and maybe even then it was probably just fear. Everyone knew better than him, annoying bastards.

Gabriel had enough of this topic right after the first day, but he actually gave it more thought than he did anything before. He got nowhere. Absolutely fucking nowhere. He would have to make a decision within an hour and he still didn't know what his decision was. He knew what most angels expected, he also knew what the demons and the fairies wanted. And against all odds he thought about his little brother too, and knew all too well what he wanted. Only Castiel could make this sound easy though, that this was the right thing to do, period. If it was only that. His brother was no idiot, but he had a great tendency to ignore the bigger picture. He was compassionate and he loved humans more than any angel Gabriel has ever known. He wasn't sure whether Castiel didn't know or didn't care how badly shit would hit the fan if Gabriel "did the right thing".

And there was Dean. He realized he thought even more about Dean regarding this than he thought about his brother. This was not good, because thinking about him just made him want to not "do the right thing". He knew Dean should've been far away from his mind, but he was there. He was an insistent presence in his head, showing up again and again within his thoughts.

So there he was. A decision had to be made and he still had no clue. He was supposed to be sure of himself regarding decisions like this, but this was a mess, on the outside, and inside his own head too.

x-x-x

Dean tried to joke around or lighten the mood in the living room, but after half an hour he gave up. The tension from Sam and Castiel got to him and all three of them were sitting silently on the couch staring at Lily's projection as the legislature entered the large hall. There were beings there all around the podium and not for the first time Dean wondered why Castiel was not there.

First entered Lord Vishnu, the God King of Earth, he was a tall, long-haired, dark-skinned man. He wore a golden crown on his head and other thick golden jewelry around his neck and wrists. His clothes were also dark blue and bright yellow.

'Now that's kinda flashy,' Dean remarked. Sam just stared at him.

'The gods are… traditionalists, especially about their formal wear,' Castiel said.

Second was Crowley, the Kind of Hell. He wore a perfectly tailored dark suit, in every inch a business man. Most demons looked like that, except the white demons. They always were a little different, rarely formal, mostly wearing white or light colors. Even if one couldn't tell what kind of demon they were seeing, one could guess pretty damn good just by taking a close look at their clothing. Red demons were the most posh and formal, black demons followed close behind – some of them really wanted to pretend they were one of the royal red demons – while white demons simply didn't give a damn. Dean always feared white demons the most. They were not right in the head, not one bit.

Auberon followed Crowley, taking a seat as well. He also wore a suit, but it was light brown, he wore green shirt and tie and if Dean was not mistaken even his hair looked dark green. His skin was tan, his face gentle, but Dean knew enough about fairies not to be fooled. Most of them looked nice, fey women were spectacularly gorgeous, but they were almost as bad as demons, they were just very pretty on the outside.

Then Eve walked in, the Queen of Purgatory, wearing a long white dress. The dark haired and fair skinned lady looked very young, but again Dean was not an idiot. She was the mother of all Purgatorian creatures, or so he heard. Purgatorians sometimes scared the crap out of him. Most of them looked human at first, even more so than demons or angels did, but once you pissed one off, oh shit. There were fangs and claws, poisons and acids. Some could transform into hideous things. Dean also knew that the other beings sometimes just looked at them like they were animals. He heard it enough times from his late master. Dean wasn't so sure, and even if they were animals, they were damn smart ones.

Finally Gabriel showed up. Dean already saw before what he was wearing of course, but seeing him through the Spiritline was strange. He seemed so far away, such a different being altogether. Normally Gabriel was one of the least formal dressing angels Dean has ever seen. But today instead of his soft jeans and dark shirt, he put on something just a little bit more formal. No suit, but light beige trousers and a white shirt. The shirt looked really vibrant now that Dean looked at him, and he knew it was because it was sewed with gold thread and also the cuffs and buttons were gold. Dean was really surprised when he saw it this morning. Gabriel just smiled and told him that it was still better than having to wear a breastplate and a robe, what apparently was something archangels wore in Heaven. Dean pictured Gabriel in one right away and was pretty sure that he would enjoy looking at him like that. Not like the white and gold shirt didn't look really nice on him. His eyes looked even lighter, more gold than amber, while his skin seemed warmer compared to the vibrant white of the shirt.

Gabriel took his place in the middle of the table, Vishnu and Crowley to his left, while Auberon and Eve to his right. The God King stood up and welcomed them all.

'This is seriously killing me,' Sam said.

'Relax,' Dean told him.

'I can't, if you would be able to tell me what Gabriel will do…'

'I told you I have no idea,' Dean answered.

Vishnu kept talking, making a detailed speech about the Human Rights bill, its importance and necessity. Also about what basic rights were entailed in it. Dean didn't pay attention. He was distracted by the stern look on Gabriel's face. So hard and cold, like an emotionless mask on his face. His eyes looked as golden as Dean remembered them to be this morning. He wondered for a moment whether Gabriel deliberately made it look like that or if it was something that happened unconsciously. He remembered how brightly his eyes burned when he got really angry. Right now Dean took it as a sign that he was not as calm as his expression indicated.

Vishnu's voice became just a background noise, Dean couldn't even make out the words. He just kept looking at Gabriel and couldn't help thinking about this morning. He absentmindedly reached up and touched the mark he had on his neck. Leaving hickeys and bite marks were always Gabriel's thing, Dean constantly had a few on his neck on visible places and a few others in more intimate places, on his hips and the inside of his thighs. Dean liked it. The slave seal on his nape was a proof that he belonged to Gabriel, by contract, because Gabriel paid for him. The hickeys though, they were a whole different kind of marks of possession.

This morning he woke up to Gabriel's fingers slowly running up and down on his naked back. It was a gentle yet possessive touch that made a shiver run down Dean's spine the moment he woke up. Dean's body was still pleasantly aching after all the things that happened after. Gabriel just told him to stay like that, lying on his stomach, so he did. Dean came just from rutting against the sheets, while Gabriel had his fingers buried in him and his mouth attached to Dean's neck. It felt so good and Gabriel was doing it for such a long time, moving and twisting his fingers, pressing down onto that wonderfully sensitive spot within that made Dean write and moan uncontrollably. Dean was still blissed and high from his orgasm when Gabriel finally pushed inside of him, his length sliding in easily after so much stretching and his muscles being all relaxed from pleasure. He fucked him long and hard, kept thrusting into him so perfectly that Dean became hard all over again and was coming a second time before he even knew it. By the time Gabriel's trusts became heavy and fast, his breath quick and erratic, Dean was beyond words, beyond anything really. His throat felt dry and raw from all the moans and pleas that left his mouth, his body was beyond blissed out and even after his second orgasm the feel of Gabriel's dick inside of him felt amazing. Gabriel came with a loud groan, finally spilling his seed inside of the human. Dean just moaned at the feel of the warm wetness. They were having a lot of sex lately, but this morning stood out even still.

So yeah, Dean was watching Gabriel sitting there, looking… regal, for the lack of a better word, and all he could think of was that the pleasant ache in his ass was done by him. That only a few hours ago he was naked and sweaty in a bed with him. The gravity of how important an angel Gabriel was felt still too huge for him to really wrap his head around. He never understood it better than right now and out of all the things he should've felt about it, it made him hot.

'I have accepted this law and my kind has to live by it as of this day,' Vishnu said when Dean managed to pay attention to him again. He had to squash down every single thought about Gabriel right away if he didn't want to get a hard-on with his brother sitting right next to him. That would be really awkward.

'For this to become law, that all must obey while on Earth, a decision needs to be made. You are the ones who need to see the truth and justice in its words. I am asking you all to stand by me. My vote for the Human Rights bill is yes.'

He then turned to the other members to the legislature. Sam and Castiel tensed up even more, if that was even possible, staring at the projection.

'Crowley?' Vishnu called.

'No,' came the expected answer from the King of Hell immediately.

'Auberon?' Vishnu called. He skipped Gabriel, but from all what Dean knew about how the legislature worked, he was not surprised.

'No,' the King of Fairies said firmly. Sam huffed out a breath, seemed frustrated even if Dean knew he expected these two leaders to be against the law.

'Eve?' Vishnu moved forward. The fair-skinned lady turned to the side to look at the other leaders sitting at the table. An unpleasant smile spread on her red lips.

'Yes,' she uttered. The crowd let out some noise this time, but it was only a small rumble.

'That's it!' Sam exclaimed.

Castiel breathed out slowly, resting his head on his hands. Dean found the lack of faith Cas had in his brother sad. Gabriel wasn't bad, he really wasn't.

'C'mon, he can't throw it back… he can't,' Sam was repeating as he stood up from the couch, too nervous to stay still.

'Gabriel, if you would please make your decision,' Vishnu asked. Castiel tensed next to Dean and even Sam stopped pacing and stared intensely at the projection.

Dean was watching Gabriel. The archangel seemed deep in thought, because Dean knew that expression on his face. He then shut his eyes for a moment as the other four leaders looked over to him.

'Yes,' he said as he opened his eyes. There was silence for about a second, complete silence, and then the room on the projection erupted in noise, one half in cheers the other half in angry yells. Crowley and Auberon both stood up immediately, but it was too loud for Dean to hear what they were saying, but they looked more than a little angry. Only a few moments passed like this then Gabriel started speaking again, this time loudly. He was not yelling, but somehow his voice overrode all of the noise in the hall.

'My word is final. The Declaration of Human Rights, from this moment on, in the name of the Father and the Heavenly Court is law!'

'He did it,' Castiel said faintly, staring at the projection with widened eyes.

'He really did,' Dean said, with just as much surprise in his voice. Sam was only silent for another moment then he broke out in loud cheers, dragging Dean on his feet and hugging him.

'We're free, Dean! We're free!' he kept shouting. Dean had never seen him so happy in his life.

'Yeah,' Dean said quietly.

x-x-x

Gabriel dodged all questions, all complaints, he didn't care, didn't want to hear it. He knew there would be consequences, but he didn't want to deal with them just yet.

Vishnu looked completely pleased and grateful, Eve was simply happy that Crowley was angry, or at least it seemed that way. Auberon looked murderous. Not like Gabriel had to fear any of them. He left though, as soon as he could. He had something more important to settle than listening to all of those who didn't agree with his decision.

He was not surprised to see his brother and Sam Winchester when he arrived if he was honest, but it didn't mean that he was pleased about it.

'What do you want?' he asked curtly, looking at his brother.

'I would like to speak with you,' Castiel answered.

'I still don't think there is anything to talk about,' Gabriel said.

'Please,' Castiel repeated and Gabriel sighed. He should be an ass, he should just send him the hell away.

'Fine,' he grumbled, making it obvious that he was not happy about it.

'You can remove the seals first, I can wait,' his brother said next and it took Gabriel a moment to realize what he meant. Yeah, he just freed up his slaves, all slaves. As he took a step closer to the Winchester brothers, Sam turned his back on him. Gabriel pressed two fingers to the sigil in his nape and it burned out of his skin, making it vanish right away, the human hissed out in pain. Gabriel didn't care whether it hurt him. Dean thought… Dean kept looking at him and Gabriel just stared back.

This didn't feel good, this knowledge that Dean was not his anymore, it didn't feel good at all. He stopped well within Dean's space, but the human didn't move or tense, didn't step back either. Gabriel reached out and put his hand on the back of his neck, removing the seal a lot slower, and in addition a lot less painfully than Sam's. Dean's green eyes didn't waver from his face and Gabriel liked that. When he was done he slowly pulled his hand back, sliding his fingers down Dean's neck, brushing over a hickey he left this morning, he was sure the skin still felt sensitive there. And Dean smiled, just a little, a careful smile, but a smile nonetheless and Gabriel felt just a little bit warmer inside.

'I'll be right back,' he said quietly.

'Okay,' Dean replied, equally quiet.

Castiel and Gabriel went up to the study a floor above, not bothering with stairs simply flying up there.

'Don't think that only because I allowed this law to pass anything changes between you and me,' Gabriel said right away.

'I assumed that would be the case,' Castiel said.

'Okay then. Make this quick, I have something more important to do.'

'I know that the new law will not go down in the public without problems,' Cas said.

'That's putting it mildly,' Gabriel said.

'I just want you to know that everyone at the A.S.M., including myself, will be hundred percent behind you in the following times and you can-'

'Okay, just stop. While this all sounds real sweet… I don't need you or your little freedom fighters. Yes, there will be major shit going down, but I am more than capable of handling them. So you should stop underestimating me. Besides, even if I do need help, it's not going to be you I'm going to ask.'

'Gabriel-'

'Did you expect a different answer?'

'You cannot be angry with me forever,' Castiel said.

'Watch me,' Gabriel told him sternly. 'Is there anything else? I have to talk with Dean.'

'Dean?' Cas frowned. 'Gabriel… he is free now.'

'You don't say,' the archangel rolled his eyes.

'He is also free to leave from here,' his brother said. Gabriel's jaw clenched at the mention of that.

'I know,' he gritted out.

'Then what exactly are you planning to talk with him about?' Castiel asked.

'It's none of your damn business,' Gabriel told him.

'If he decides to leave, you must allow it.'

'Well, maybe he doesn't want to leave!' Gabriel said. 'Maybe he's perfectly fine with staying here.'

'Gabriel…'

'This is not your business!' Gabriel repeated. 'So are we done?'

Castiel took a large breath then nodded.

'I hope to see you soon,' Castiel told him.

'I don't,' Gabriel replied right away. His brother was gone next, but not from the apartment, he only whisked down to the floor below. He spent another few moments down there and then he was gone. Gabriel took the slower path and walked, wanting him to be gone. He hoped he took Sam with him too.

Nobody was in the living room when he got there, so he continued to walk towards Dean's bedroom. Of course what Castiel said was right, Dean was free to leave, but what Gabriel said maybe also had some merit. So Gabriel figured he should tell Dean that he could stay… if he wanted. That was a strange thought. He should tell that he would really not mind if he stayed. Ok, yeah so, maybe he should ask him to stay not just tell him that he could. Maybe that would be better. That Gabriel would like it if he stayed… if he wanted to. They could work out the details after, sure Dean wouldn't need to work anymore, cause that would be weird.

He didn't bother to knock, since he never did, but pushed the door open. He stopped by the door after he looked inside. No Sam either, only Dean, a bunch of clothes on the bed and an open bag on the chair. It stirred something inside Gabriel, but it wasn't anger, it was something sharper, colder.

'You're leaving,' he said. Dean looked back up at him with slightly widened eyes, opened his mouth then closed it again, taking a breath before he could speak.

'Gabriel-'

The archangel turned and walked back out of the room.

'Gabriel!' Dean called after him. 'I didn't even think of this before… I-'

'You don't need to explain yourself to me, Dean,' Gabriel interrupted, his voice sounded dim even to his own ears. This, he should not care about, not one bit, not even a little. Whatever some little insignificant human does is not something that he should concern himself with.

'Sam made plans, weeks in advance… I just… he will leave, and he asked me to go with him… I couldn't say no.'

'I told you, I don't care about explanations,' Gabriel said. He stopped by the fireplace, staring ahead of himself, his back turned to the human. Dean was standing a few steps behind him.

'If it wasn't Sam-'

'I don't care!' Gabriel told him again this time a lot louder. Then he took a breath. 'Just gather your stuff and get out,' he added with a quieter tone.

Dean was silent for a few moments; Gabriel could only hear his breathing. Then he turned and walked back to his room. Gabriel felt like he was frozen on the spot, he couldn't really get himself to get out or up to his study or into his bedroom, but he also didn't turn back around. He was just standing there, like a complete idiot.

It didn't take much longer before Dean was back out from his room, his steps louder and sounding heavier, he was wearing his boots now then.

'Gabriel…'

'Go,' he said right away. That one word basically sucked the air out of his lungs.

'Goodbye,' Dean answered quietly, his voice uncertain. Then the front door opened and closed and that was it.

x-x-x


	12. Chapter 12

(12) July

x-x-x

When Dean woke up it was almost dark in his room, so it was earlier than he would've liked. He was surprised about it, but he could still be startled about not waking up to the familiar scent of Gabriel's bed. Yeah, it was silly, but he couldn't help it. It always took him a few moments to remember why his bed was hard, why his sheets and covers were a little scratchy and why everything smelled like dust and old paint. The fact that he still couldn't sleep all that well in general was also not helping him.

This time though, he was woken by a dream. A bittersweet one, because the dream was actually good, he dreamt of warm touches, bright amber eyes and the scent of coffee. He didn't feel like going back to sleep after that, despite the early hour.

He padded over to the bathroom at the end of the corridor to get on with his day. He stopped when he took a look at himself in the mirror and his gaze lingered on his unmarked neck. The last of Gabriel's marks faded away by now, and it was strange to suddenly not have any of them. Dean ran a finger down on the spot the last one had been, but snapped out of it quickly and went on with his morning routine. When he was getting dressed he stopped and sighed again, because while he might've been considering getting rid of his clothes as they were reminders he couldn't actually afford to do that, so there he was thinking about all the things he shouldn't be. That was all the past after all.

He and Sam ended up in South Dakota after a few weeks of traveling. It took a lot of time to get here since neither of them knew how to drive. It's not like most humans could, on the contrary, only those could who had to do work that involved driving. The Winchester brothers did not belong to that category. Dean had learned how by now thought, excellently to boot, if he might say so himself. Sam was a disaster. Maybe disaster was too harsh a word, but he was obviously not as talented in the whole "when to push which paddle" business like Dean was. His little brother was frustrated about it. Dean felt just a little smug that he learned something faster than the oh so very smart Sam Winchester. Sam was learning Latin, but that was not something Dean cared about, so his brother couldn't annoy him with that knowledge.

It's been an adjustment. Hell, they were still adjusting. They were in an old house that was now owned by Bobby Singer. His ex-master gave it to him when he was freed as payment for his many years of good service. Bobby's been a mechanic for his owner and now he had a scrap yard and a house of his own. Dean was learning from him. He always prided himself in learning a new skill fast, but somehow the engines came even easier. He found the work soothing too. There were many humans who were in a need of cheap, but running cars so both Sam and Dean were working with Bobby, helping him out in exchange for living under his roof. It was a fair trade. They got old cars up and running for people, cause there was one thing humans could afford; something that was cheap. So Bobby's cars were cheap, people came, the business was running pretty sweetly.

Dean didn't plan on doing this forever, but it was perfectly fine for the time being, until he and Sam figured out what they wanted to do in the long run. He was also getting a car back in shape for himself. It was a beautiful black car and for some reason the second Dean laid eyes on it he just had to ask Bobby if he could have it. Bobby said yes, that if he could repair it and get it running. Every day he spent working on it since then he just became more and more attached.

He figured since it was this early he could work some time on it now. He was sure that Sam was still asleep. When he woke up his brother was usually up, but it was really early this time.

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs when he heard Karen's voice. She was the house spirit, and at the same time Bobby's late wife. When Bobby's wife passed away she was made into a house spirit many years ago. Dean couldn't imagine what it was like to have someone you loved remain in this world like this. On the other hand, she was not completely gone this way so maybe it wasn't so bad. Dean didn't dare ask Bobby about it yet.

Dean started listening to figure out what she was talking about, he also wondered who was up this early morning.

'… there is still no final number of casualties, but it looks like most of the humans have been evacuated a day before retribution. Roughly one third of Los Angeles lies in ruin though, but even so-'

'What?' Dean stopped listening and rushed inside the room. Sam was up, of course he was. His brother looked over to him.

'That's enough Karen, thank you,' he said.

'No!' Dean interrupted right away. 'What's going on in Los Angeles? Keep talking, Karen!'

'Dean-'

'No! Why didn't you tell me something was going on? Keep talking, Karen, please. What happened?'

Sam sighed, but knew that Dean was not going to let this go. Karen turned and looked at Dean before she vanished to project. Dean recognized L.A. right away, he knew the tall white skyscrapers.

'Roughly one third of the city has been leveled as part of the continent wide retribution.'

'What retribution? Start at the beginning,' Dean asked.

'Not long after the Declaration of Human Rights major uprisings took place all over the world against the decision, mainly in the American continent among the angels and demons. The Fey, the Purgatorians, and the gods have taken the change much more smoothly. But there were huge riots in Washington, New York and Los Angeles among the angels, while there was a terrible outbreak of demonic violence in Detroit, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and over a dozen other major cities on the continent.'

'What happened in Los Angeles?' Dean asked, his pulse already rising.

'Dean, seriously-' Sam started to interrupt.

'I want to know, Sam!' Dean snapped at him. How could his brother hide this from him?

'A large number of angels attacked the Los Angeles Citadel, refusing to accept the new law and no longer acknowledging Gabriel's authority on Earth.'

Just hearing the archangel's name made Dean suck in a harsh breath, and hearing everything else. He was attacked?

'Is he…' he started to ask, but had to stop for a moment.

'Of course, he's fine Dean,' Sam interrupted, his tone was not exactly happy, but at least he was answering. 'He's an archangel. He's the one who burnt down one third of the city.'

'What?' Dean frowned at him.

'Retribution,' Sam answered. 'Angels started rebelling, demons did too… there were consequences.'

'Karen?' Dean turned back towards the spirit.

'A few days ago, after the attack on Gabriel, Heaven has taken it in its hand to bring order to Earth again. Archangels Michael and Raphael have arrived. The angelic uproars were put to an end immediately, the Washington and New York citadels were destroyed by the Archangel Raphael and all angels that could be held responsible for the rebellion were killed.'

'Oh shit,' Dean breathed out. 'This bad?'

'You don't know the half of it. Tell him about Detroit, Karen,' Sam asked.

'The largest demon city, Detroit has been completely destroyed after thousands of demons slaughtered their human slaves in an act of rebellion against the new law,' Karen said. Dean stared at his brother, who nodded back.

'We don't know how many were killed, thousands of people, maybe even millions… no way to know, not yet. '

'What happened after?' Dean asked. He didn't even dare to think about this in detail just yet.

'The Archangel Michael has struck down, so Detroit is more or less… gone. He has made a public announcement that since Gabriel has made his decision, in Heaven's eyes the law is sacred now. All those who run counter to it will be brought to justice. All angels who do not obey, will be considered traitors and will be punished for disobedience by the decision of the Archangel Raphael. Michael has also warned all four other leaders, especially the King of Hell, that they must bring order among their kind immediately. Also, that anything like the events in Detroit will be treated by him as an act or war.'

'So…'

'So Michael can attack again if Crowley can't get the demons under control,' Sam said.

'What about the angels?' Dean asked.

'After what happened in Los Angeles, Washington and New York… I doubt there will be any more disturbances on that end.'

'So the retribution…' Dean said again.

'The archangels' answer to the commotion,' Sam said. 'They struck down with an iron fist. Fast, deadly, unmerciful. I'm pretty sure the demons will stop now too.'

Dean took a large breath, collecting himself and digesting all this information. He was a little pissed that his brother did not tell him about this immediately, but he had other things in his mind too.

'Karen, connect to Los Angeles spirit Lily White,' he asked.

'No!' Sam interrupted this time.

'Sam-'

'Dean, no!' Sam stood up and walked in front of him. 'You can't call him. Thank you very much, Karen. You can go back to your skull now.' Karen listened and vanished after a final worried glance at the Winchester brothers.

'I just… want to know if he's okay,' Dean said.

'He's alive, there's nothing else to know.'

'Easy for you to say, you always hated him,' Dean answered angrily.

'Dean, listen to me… I know you think it's a good idea, but believe me, it's not.'

'Why? Why the hell can't I just call him and ask if he's fine?' Dean asked in return. 'He's done a lot for us, Sam. A lot! He's not a bad guy, so quit talking about him like that! He's always been good to me, so why the hell is it so bad that I actually… he's a good guy… he is, I…'

'You were his slave,' Sam answered in a leveled tone.

'He didn't treat me like a slave,' Dean said stubbornly.

'Like a servant then,' his brother countered. 'You can't deny that.' Sam sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, thinking for a moment before he continued speaking. 'I know he was your first owner who treated you even remotely decently… I know he was even kind. I know you feel… attached, but… don't lose your touch with reality here, okay? I'm not saying this to insult you. I'm really not, but… he only bought you because he needed someone to clean and wash and warm his bed. I'm not saying he was not a good master, but he was your master nonetheless.'

'But-'

'Dean, I get that you think there was something more, but… he never treated you as an equal, and I want you to have something better than that. You deserve to be more than some angel's pet, okay?'

'I know him better than you,' Dean said. He knew he still sounded stubborn, but he felt like he was also right to some degree at least.

'Did he honestly show any sign that there was something more?' Sam asked. Dean couldn't really answer that one. It's not like there were words he could quote. It was always such tiny things that gave him this feeling, that he was more than that, not just some pet. He just… had that feeling.

'And even if there was, how can you know if that's something you want?' his brother asked next.

'What?'

'All I'm saying is that you lived your life being what your owners wanted you to be… and I don't want you anywhere near close to Gabriel until I know for sure that you are confident in who you are and what you want.'

'What the hell kind of bullshit is that? I know damn well who I am,' Dean answered.

'You spent twenty minutes the other day trying to figure out how you liked your eggs best for breakfast, while you could list all of Gabriel's favorite foods in your sleep.' Sam told him.

'I'm just-'

'I want you to figure out what you really want, that's it. The things you like, what you dislike, you know, have opinions… it's going to take time, but you have to take that time.'

Dean stepped back a little, running this through his head. He hated over thinking stuff like this. He never had to bother with anything similar. The only things he could think of that he actually liked were working on an engine and sex with Gabriel… he doubted Sam would like that answer, well the second one anyway.

'Ok, let's make a deal…' Sam spoke again.

'What?' Dean turned.

'You take time, think things over, about you. Figure yourself out, to at least a healthy level. And if you still want to go back to Los Angeles after you do… I won't stop you. I'll even go with you.'

'How long?' Dean asked.

'I doubt we can guess how long it would take.'

'That's a shitty deal, we have to set up a deadline or you can say no forever,' Dean said.

'A year,' Sam offered.

'Six months,' Dean said.

'Ten months,' Sam replied

'I've already been away for more than a month… so add nine, it's ten in total,'

'Fine,' Sam huffed. 'Another nine months then… but you and I are going to have to talk… regularly.'

'You're such a girl,' Dean snorted.

'Says the guy, who's been moping after an angel since day one,' Sam shot back. Dean glared at him for a moment, but then the fight went out of him.

'I just miss him,' he admitted quietly. He did. It was strange to wake up alone or fall asleep without Gabriel lying next to him. He missed how he looked when he was sleepy and how he straightened out his hair while rubbing his eyes. The surprise kisses and touches, their meals together… he was used to it, so yes he was missing all of that, it was something pleasant, something good after all. 'And I do think he might be missing me too… at least a little.'

Sam looked at him for a long moment. 'But you can bet he's not moping around like you do.'

x-x-x

'Just how long are you planning to keep moping around doing nothing, sir?' Lily asked, appearing without Gabriel calling her out.

'Shut it,' the archangel replied.

'You simply cannot continue behaving like this,' the spirit told him.

'I'm going to burn your bones if you don't shut up,' Gabriel growled.

'Please, do not lower yourself to idle threats sir,' she answered calmly. Gabriel just glared up at her from his spot next to the couch on the floor. He fell asleep, awesome. It explained why he felt so uncomfortable, sleeping on the floor fucking sucked. He moved and climbed up on the sofa to drop himself down on it. A loud cloud of ash and dust flew up from the impact and Gabriel groaned, remembering why he was not sleeping on his couch in the first place. His whole living room was burnt out, windows broken, furniture, curtains and carpet scorched and dusty. Even the walls were mostly black. The wind was blowing in freely from the balcony now that all glass was gone. It was hot outside, so who cared?

'Your brother's been trying to reach you for days now,' Lily told him.

'Not available… he can go… screw himself,' Gabriel mumbled. He should get up from the couch and take a shower, his clothes were covered with dirt now… no, stardust… the only thing that remained from the wings of dead angels. The thin layer looked black, but it shimmered with a bright metallic glint where the sun shone on it. There was ash too of course, many things consumed by fire and carried inside by the wind that blew from the direction of the destroyed part of the city. How much of it was the remains of buildings and how much was angels and humans… maybe other things.

Yeah, it was time for a drink. Luckily, he didn't have to go far, he still had some in his bottle from last night and he left it by the coffee table.

'You can tell that to him yourself,' Lily said as she vanished and Gabriel didn't get what she meant at first. But then of course there was the tell tale sound of wings and the presence of an all too familiar angel invading his senses.

'Go away,' he said right away.

'No,' Castiel replied.

'I'm not in the fucking mood for… whatever you want...' Gabriel told him.

'I figured you would not be in a good mood.'

'Brilliantly deducted,' the archangel snorted and sat up on the couch. If he was going to be forced to have a conversation he should not have the disadvantage of lying on the sofa. 'Okay, out with it, what do you want from me this time?'

'I don't want anything,' Castiel answered, standing awkwardly a few steps away from the archangel. 'I really just came to check up on you.'

'Yeah, like you care,' Gabriel answered taking another swing from the bottle.

'I do,' his brother replied. 'I know how much you dislike violence, especially among angels.'

Gabriel just huffed again. 'It's not like I didn't know it was going to happen.'

'You couldn't have possibly-'

'I knew,' Gabriel cut him off. 'That's the difference between us, Castiel… you're so emotional, so wrapped up in your own little ideas that you can't think two steps ahead, you can't see the bigger picture, how things will play out. I knew this was going to happen. I knew there would be blood and death… I should've thrown the bill back… it was clearly lacking precautions. Tolerance time, law about ex-slaves, payments, punishments… it…'

'You did the right thing,' Castiel intoned.

'I fail to see that,' Gabriel answered immediately.

'You did,' his brother told him with conviction.

'It is the right thing, but you want to know why? Because we are stronger than all the others, everything is "right" if we want it to be. And those who disagree… die. We kill to prove that we're right, that's how Michael and Raphael settle things. It's their way, they're using this. There are hundreds of angels, thousands of demons, hundreds of thousands of people dead, Castiel. Cities lie in ruins. Raphael uses the situation to do a little spring clean up among the angelic ranks, and Michael has an excuse to slaughter demons to his heart's content… most humans are without food, money, shelter and nowhere to go, nothing to do… it's chaos, Castiel…' Gabriel took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face, not caring if it got dirty. 'And even Dean left the second he could… so yeah, fuck me doing the right thing. Fuck me big time.'

'Things are settling down now… the events that played out were horrible, too many deaths, but the world needed this change. It will lead to something good, a better future.'

'You're naïve sometimes, Castiel,' Gabriel said after taking another gulp. 'I don't see it being "good" right now… not for the world, and not for me.'

'I'm sorry you were forced to take such drastic measures to stop the angels rebelling against you,' Castiel said, his tone sincere and Gabriel didn't think for a second that the sentiment was not genuine.

They were in silence for quite a while. Gabriel had way too many thoughts running around in his head. He wanted to squash them all down before some of them broke free.

'Maybe you should clean up and eat something,' Castiel suggested.

'Not hungry… just go, Castiel… don't force yourself, I know I'm intolerable anyway.'

'You are not intolerable… only sometimes, and it is no bother,' Castiel said, walking closer and looking down at the scorched couch, possibly for a cleaner spot to sit down to. 'Besides, I don't think you should be alone. You might get attacked again.' The last part of that was so ridiculous, that tone, like Cas was going to be the one playing bodyguard, like Gabriel wasn't thousand times stronger than he was.

'Why do you care?'

'You're my brother, and I love you,' the younger angel replied.

'You have a funny way of showing that,' Gabriel answered. Castiel finally sat down, not caring about the dirty couch.

'Gabriel, I know I've been hard on you, not just lately, but all our lives, everyone has. There are always things that are expected of you and I just joined the crowd with my own demands, for that I apologize.'

Gabriel stayed silent, the bottle hanging loosely in his hand, and he didn't have anything to say.

'But I would not have pushed you so much, if I did not firmly believe you to be capable to achieve anything. And I would not have scolded you so harshly for any of the mistakes you've made if I did not believe you to be more caring and fairer than any other angel I know, if I did not believe you to be the best of the archangels, only if you paid more attention to the world around you. I do have faith in you, Gabriel. Thus my high expectations… but I should've been your brother first and foremost.'

Gabriel had nothing to offer in answer, so he just nodded jerkily, keeping his eyes on the bottle in his hand.

'I really think you should get cleaned and eat, Gabriel.'

'Not hungry, and I don't like going into my bedroom,' just like avoided even looking at Dean's door… what used to be Dean's door.

'Okay, maybe we could… clean some of this mess up,' his brother offered.

'Why did he leave Cas?' Gabriel asked suddenly, no longer able to push the thought down. 'He looked happy, he did…'

'Dean,' Castiel said, not a question. Not like it was hard to figure out whom Gabriel was talking about. 'He had a right to leave, Gabriel. He's free now.'

'I know, but he would've been free… I just…' he trailed off.

'I'm sure you can employ someone for the work around the house,' his brother said and Gabriel laughed. It was a painful, empty sound for his ears.

'You honestly think that this is about… cleaning or cooking?' he asked and finally turned his head to look at his brother. Castiel frowned first, but then his face smoothed out in understanding.

'Oh Gabriel.'

'I'm not an idiot, I knew he would leave… the second I said "yes" to the law I knew… I just, I guess I couldn't help hoping that I was wrong. But I wasn't, he left the first chance he got, obviously.'

'Did you ask him to stay?'

'He was already packing his things there was nothing to ask for,' Gabriel answered.

'And what would've happened if he stayed?' Castiel asked.

'I don't know… we could've figured it out. Doesn't matter now. He wanted to leave so he did. I was just stupid. I owned him, so of course he wanted to get away from me.'

Castiel stayed silent for a moment, then he reached over and took the bottle out of Gabriel's hand. The archangel frowned up at him, but the angry words died on his lip when his brother took a swing from the liquor.

'I've never seen you drink before,' Gabriel said.

'You'd be surprised,' his brother replied. 'Besides, I think the best way to show my support is to sit on your unimaginably dirty couch and get drunk with you, if that is really how you plan to spend your day.'

That actually made a surprise chuckle erupt from Gabriel, not as empty as the one before.

'I'm good with this plan. My unimaginably dirty couch and I could actually do with some company.'

Castiel handed back the bottle and Gabriel took a small sip before handing it back.

'There is one thing you did not consider though,' Castiel said.

'And what is that?' Gabriel asked.

'That Dean didn't leave you. He chose his brother over you.'

'What the hell kinda difference does that make?' Gabriel asked. 'He's gone either way.'

'It's a very big difference,' Cas insisted. 'And if you really did treat Dean as right as you say you did, it's also a very important difference.'

'Yeah, he's still gone so… it doesn't matter.'

'I believe you ought to think this through in depth some other day, when your head is clearer,' Cas told him as he handed the bottle back. Gabriel shrugged; he did not want to think, not about Dean anyway, not about anything at all. He just wanted to enjoy that his little brother was sitting next to him right now. This was something he saw a chance to fix, having his brother back. Everything else just looked way too broken at the moment to even consider anything good coming out of it.

x-x-x


	13. Chapter 13

(13) April

x-x-x

'I really don't see the point in dressing up when I'm not even planning to leave my apartment,' Gabriel said as he buttoned up a random shirt from the closet. Seriously, he could totally lie around in his boxers if he wanted to, who the hell would care?

Lily stopped listing the recent news and looked at the archangel.

'This is the moment when your brother would call you a "petulant child", I believe,' she remarked.

'Well, aren't you getting cheeky?'

'It was merely an observation, sir,' the spirit answered. Gabriel rolled his eyes. He was pretty damn sure that his brother had a hand in Lily being "observant" like this, saying all the things his brother would if he would be present, which was pretty damn regular actually. It was true that the A.S.M. was no longer, but the former members did find plenty of things that were needed to be done to help the "society". Castiel chose to focus on all the things Gabriel pointed out as major problems. Namely, there were millions of humans all around the globe without homes and work. Well, their numbers decreased day by day since everything from agriculture to economy was based on working humans. All of those who had slaves before now had to employ humans, giving them a reasonable salary. Well, that was the idea, it was hard to make it into reality. Cas and his fellow nut jobs now had taken up the task to ensure that freed humans were treated correctly and were not employed under unfair circumstances. Gabriel told his brother that it's going to take decades until things fell into order again, but his brother said that he would work for decades then. The stubborn little bastard he was.

A loud sound made him look up and frown.

'What the hell was that?' he asked.

'That was the doorbell,' Lily answered.

'Who the hell would ring my doorbell?' Gabriel asked. Only Castiel visited him in his home and he could just fly right in.

'I assume that answering the door is the most productive way of figuring that out, sir,' the spirit told him with a smile.

'Smart ass… back in the skull lady,' Gabriel said and headed out from his bedroom. He walked across the living room to open the door, which he didn't do since ages.

And he promptly stopped when he did. Stopped everything, moving, blinking, he didn't even breathe for a few moments, he just stared. Not exactly sure that he believed his eyes.

'Dean,' he said quietly, his hand gripping the door tightly while he stood still, staring at the man in front of him. Dean was standing tall, but the way he shifted from one foot to the other said that he was a bit nervous. He looked well, gorgeous as ever. He was looking back at Gabriel, standing there wordlessly for a few moments. Then a small smile spread on his face.

'Hey,' he greeted. Gabriel moved without a thought, right into his space, reaching out, pulling Dean's head down and capturing his lips. He kissed him hard and unyielding, keeping his body close to his. When Dean reacted a moment later, kissing back, Gabriel let out a small noise. He didn't think, didn't believe that he could do this ever again. How was he here? Why was he here? He didn't want to care, but…

He slowed down and pulled back after a while. Jumping the human like this, he couldn't just do that. He never thought he would react like this if he ever saw the man again. It's been so long thought and he was unable to control himself. He had to stop before he lost all common sense from the feel of Dean's lips on his.

'Sorry,' he breathed out when their lips were no longer touching. He was reluctant to fully let go though, his fingers lingered on the back of Dean's neck as he looked up at his face. Dean opened his eyes a moment later, they were dark, his pupils large. Dean licked his lips briefly and answered the kiss with a kiss of his own, sealing their lips together again.

Gabriel kissed him back right away, opening his mouth and exploring the other man's. Dean pushed him back to the apartment and Gabriel let him. They didn't let go of each other for a moment, the kisses they shared were fast and messy, all want and lust. Gabriel felt like all the piled up longing suddenly burst into flames inside of him. When the angel heard the door slamming shut he took control of the kiss and pressed Dean backwards until the human's back hit the wooden surface. Gabriel ran his hands down on his chest before settling them on his hips. Dean pulled him closer and twisted a hand in his hair.

Everything was fast and hurried, their touches, their kisses. Gabriel was pushing Dean's jacket down and he basically growled into the never-ending kiss when Dean grabbed a hold of him and turned them around, pressing Gabriel up to the wall to shrug off the materiel. Gabriel's shirt got pulled open, basically torn and Dean let go of his lips to seal his mouth on his neck. Gabriel slid his hands back and gripped Dean's ass while he moaned his name out. Dean let out a short noise in reaction and bit down on the skin of Gabriel's neck before he pulled back to kiss him on the lips again.

Gabriel pushed his hands up under Dean's t-shirt as much as he could to yank the material over his head. Dean helped and soon it landed on the floor and the human was gloriously naked from the waste up. It was the angel's turn to explore skin. He mouthed at Dean's throat, his hands roaming his back. Fuck, he missed him, missed him so damn much. Gabriel grabbed hold of Dean's belt and turned them around again, slotting a knee between his legs and pressing forward. Dean twisted his hands in his hair again and pulled his head up to kiss him more, moaning into his mouth.

Gabriel rolled his hips forward and now both of them could feel the other, even through layers of clothing it was incredible. Gabriel didn't think there was a way for them to move anywhere. Even the couch seemed way too far. He couldn't move away, not with Dean pressed up to his body after so many months of him being gone, with the human kissing him and touching him just as fast and desperately as Gabriel kissed and touched him. It didn't matter where they were, standing or not, nothing mattered, just them, only them. They moved against each other, the friction driving Gabriel crazy, or crazier, if that was even possible.

He moved his hand between them and yanked on Dean's belt, he had to move away from him a little to undo it. But despite Gabriel being in a hurry he undid button and zipper in record speed and pushed his hand inside. Dean groaned loudly as Gabriel's fingers touched his length and he threw his head back until it bumped into the wall with a thud. Gabriel took it as an invitation and sealed his mouth on his neck again as he stroked the hardened flesh under his fingers again and again.

'Oh, fuck Gabriel…' Dean groaned out. Gabriel sucked on his skin and the sound of Dean's breathless voice just made the heat in the pit of his stomach flare up more. He always loved the way Dean said his name and now hearing it after only having a memory for months, it was the damn best sound in the all the worlds.

Dean moved a little and Gabriel pulled back from his neck when he felt his fingers on his slacks, the human tore open his trousers in a blink. When the pressure eased up he moaned again, and when Dean reached in to take him out and stroke on his dick he was truly gone. He yanked Dean's jeans down a little, getting his underwear out of the way too and even if it felt amazing he pulled Dean's hand away from his own length and rolled their hips together again.

Ah, it was so much better like this. Both of them hard and slick already, no layer between them, just their naked cocks sliding close. Dean pulled him into a biting kiss as they moved together. Gabriel pressed him even closer to the wall, to feel the heat of his skin, the shape of his body pressed up to his own. He was not going to last, his entire body was humming with pleasure. Dean finally tore his shirt off of him, now that also landed on the floor, but neither of them cared about that, neither of them cared about anything at all besides each other.

Their kiss was fast and messy, their movements hard and feverish, but they didn't stop, didn't slow down, just held onto the other and gave themselves over to the sensation. Gabriel let himself be overwhelmed by Dean's presence, his skin, his hot kisses, and his scent. He groaned into the human's mouth when he couldn't keep it together any longer and came from the hard press of their dicks. Dean answered with a moan and the archangel couldn't tell which one of them came first, it was all just a blur of mingling breath, clashing lips, heat and pleasure.

They kept kissing, even if they were out of breath, they just kept kissing and Gabriel didn't want to stop, not for a moment. Dean's full lips on his were the most perfect thing right now. Dean pulled back though after long moments even if Gabriel didn't, so they didn't actually get more space between them. Gabriel let his body rest on Dean, so he could feel the beat of his heart in his own chest.

'Ok, I did not expect that happening,' Dean said quietly and Gabriel huffed out a breath and smiled. They were in silence again for a bit, both of them catching their breath as their skin slowly cooled down.

'We should get cleaned up,' Dean said then.

'Okay,' Gabriel agreed and grabbed a hold of the human's wrist and pulled him away from the wall, heading towards the master bedroom, pulling Dean along. Neither of them mentioned the fact that the smaller bathroom would've been closer. Gabriel didn't want to lose the contact between them, somehow he felt like it would break the spell or something like that. The questions would come and he wanted to keep those at bay just a bit longer.

They cleaned up silently. Then Gabriel noticed that he left a small mark on Dean's collarbone, even if it was not intentional this time. He opened his mouth and blurted out what he wasn't sure he wanted to say.

'I missed you.'

Dean looked back at his face at the words. He dropped the towel he was holding and then they were kissing again, with just as much fire as only a few minutes ago.

x-x-x

Dean had no idea how much time passed, but they were once again in the middle of kissing, sprawled on Gabriel's bed when his mind caught up with him and he pulled away, or at least tried to, but the archangel was very distracting and very adamant about putting his lips on every inch of Dean's skin. It felt so good, but really… they were not going anywhere with this.

'No… listen… Gabriel… stop it, okay? I really need to talk with you.'

'Then talk,' Gabriel said.

'No… not… stop it!' he said more firmly and Gabriel pulled up a little and blinked at him. 'Not like this… you get distracted.'

'But you get distracted too, so… no problem,' the angel smiled. Dean huffed out a small laugh, but then steeled himself, not giving in this time.

'No… clothes, we are going to put some clothes on,' he said as he tried to sit up. Gabriel was still practically half on top of him, so he huffed and looked down at him. 'Now. I'm serious.'

The archangel finally rolled off of him so Dean could pull away to stand up and put at least some pants on. Gabriel was still lying on the bed like a lazy sated lion.

'Gabriel, clothes,' Dean reminded him. Gabriel chuckled.

'You're bossy,' he remarked.

Which was sort of true. In the past months Dean got a lot better at standing up for himself and speaking his mind, especially in the not keeping his opinions to himself part. He wasn't sure how that would work around Gabriel, whether he would be able to do it and whether the archangel would let him. To be honest, Dean had absolutely no idea how he was going to react, seeing Gabriel again. He did not expect them jumping each other like this, but it was a lot better still than most of the scenarios Dean's mind came up with in the past days. Sure Gabriel's never been bad, but he liked being the boss in everything and liked it when people obeyed if he wanted something. This whole thing seemed new and intimidating right now even if it had no right to be like that. He liked to believe that he knew Gabriel, but as the months passed by without him, he also realized that there were many things he didn't know.

'Yeah I… tend to be like that,' Dean answered. Sam said it was Gabriel's fault. That Dean acted the way he did when he tried to be authoritative, because that was the way the archangel behaved. Dean agreed that there might've been some influence, but come on! Gabriel was the only one, from all the powerful beings Dean met in his life, who acted decently. What was wrong with going after a good example? Being able to sound commanding without coming off as a complete douche or a tyrant was a good thing, more than a little.

Gabriel was looking at him now, his eyes lazily taking in the sight of him. He had a thoughtful expression on his face.

'What?' Dean asked. Gabriel smiled again.

'Nothing, it's hot.'

'What?'

'You being bossy,' the angel said. Dean huffed out a laugh, but was actually relieved.

'Awesome,' he said. 'Get dressed then,' he said again. Gabriel grinned, but got out of the bed finally. He only put on pants, but so did Dean so it was fine.

'Okay, so what do you want to talk about?' the archangel asked.

'Well, first of all I think I need coffee for this,' Dean said. 'So I think I'm gonna teach you how to use your own freakin' coffee machine.'

Gabriel's eyebrows went up as he blinked at Dean a few times. His expression was unreadable after that.

'Oh really?' he asked.

'C'mon,' he nodded with his head and headed out of the bedroom. Gabriel followed a beat later and Dean had to smile at that.

Sam said Gabriel would seem different to him now, but Sam also had a wicked low opinion of the archangel for some unexplainable reason. Dean suspected that it was on his behalf, even if he could not wrap his mind around Sam's logic in that one. For now Gabriel was just the way Dean remembered him to be.

They walked over to the kitchen, which was not as messy as Dean would've expected it to be. To be honest the whole apartment was kinda in order, which was surprising. The living room also has been repainted and had different furniture in it. After Dean took in the view of the surprisingly clean kitchen he turned around and looked at the archangel.

'Ok, seriously, don't tell me that you're cleaning the place,' he said. Gabriel stared at him for a moment then chuckled.

'Yeah, not likely… I have a housekeeper,' the angel said. 'She's getting paid for it,' he added a beat later.

'Okay… coffee machine,' Dean started walking to the counter.

'Do I really have to do this?'

'I'm your guest, so I'm not gonna make coffee,' Dean stated. 'Besides, you're a smart angel, this should be easy enough. Time to become a real boy and learn how to make your own coffee.'

Gabriel rolled his eyes but walked to the counter too. This again made Dean feel something embarrassingly warm bubbling up in his chest.

Dean was right thought, it was easy as hell and Gabriel figured out the rest.

'I'm a genius,' Gabriel stated when his coffee was done and he took the first sip.

'Yeah, it's good enough,' Dean said.

'What are you talking about? This is the best coffee ever; I'm a natural coffee genius.'

'Yeah, I guess you just drank so much in your life already that it seeped into your brain,' Dean smiled.

'Cute,' Gabriel said, but he also smirked into his mug.

This was good, this was a lot better than Dean expected.

'Okay, so I'm gonna stay in Los Angeles,' Dean started. 'For the time being… see how things work out.'

Gabriel was still standing by the counter, while Dean was leaning to the table across from him. The archangel looked at him for a moment.

'Aren't things… already worked out?' he asked. 'I mean… you're here.'

'I told you… I didn't plan this to go this way,' Dean said and put his empty mug down to the table then ran a hand down his face. 'Ok, look… I'm not saying this ain't a good start, cause it is, but… what is this even supposed to be? I mean… this is weird.'

'There's nothing weird,' Gabriel said.

'I was your slave,' Dean said simply.

'I… didn't treat you like a slave,' Gabriel answered, in a tad quieter tone.

'Servant then,' Dean told him and the archangel didn't protest against that one. 'I'm not that guy anymore… I mean, I kinda am, always will be, it's been my whole life, so it's gonna take a while until I can forget about it even a little, but I'm different now… so whatever this is… if there's gonna be anything, it's gotta be different too.'

Gabriel finished his coffee then put his mug down too, while he silently thought about Dean's words, or at least he had his thinking face on.

'So what are you saying?'

'I'm saying, that I only came here to let you know that I'm back in Los Angeles, that we could y'know… meet, to figure things out… if you wanted to. I didn't plan on jumping in bed with you the second I saw you.'

'So you're… not coming back?' Gabriel asked.

'I came back. I'm here, aren't I?' Dean said in return, frowning at the angel.

'No, I thought you would stay here,' the archangel clarified.

'No,' Dean answered. 'Sam and I found a decent place we could rent, not in this district obviously, but it's good enough.'

'Why would you live in some run-down apartment, when I got plenty of room here? C'mon!'

'Because it's my apartment, so I don't care if it's not a luxury residence, it's still mine. Something that I can call my own, because I'm my own guy now, because I can be my own guy. I'm not going to be your live-in pet.'

'That's not what I meant,' Gabriel said.

'No, I really want to make this clear. I'm nobody's slave now, and I'm not going to be anyone's servant either. I won't be a hobby or pastime or plaything, not even yours, got it?'

'Well, thank you for the vote of confidence,' Gabriel replied. 'It's good to know that you think I would treat you like that.'

'Okay, maybe this comes as surprise to you, but that's exactly what I was,' Dean said sternly and felt how his body started to tense. Gabriel stayed silent for a few moments again, but his eyes never left Dean's face. He did not look away or seem nervous, more like guarded.

'You're not a toy or a pet to me. Do you honestly think that?'

Dean took a large breath before he answered. 'I came back… to get an answer to that question.'

They stayed silent for while and even Gabriel finally looked away, his face going mostly blank as he sunk deep into thought.

'You didn't plan on coming back to me, did you?' he asked then.

'I don't know… I didn't plan anything, I just… had to come back and see what would happen.'

Gabriel looked at him long and hard at that.

'So what? You're attracted to me, but don't actually want me? Is that it?' he asked.

'I don't know,' Dean said honestly.

'You don't know?'

'I don't. I know I wanted to figure out whether there was actually something or if I was just fooling myself. I wanted to know if you even cared that I left. I wanted to know what it would be like to see you again, but I don't know the rest. I'm fucking crazy about you, but I don't even know what the hell it's supposed to mean, or what it really is. I don't know what I am to you.'

'You're important,' Gabriel said right away.

'You don't even know me,' Dean said.

'I know you,' Gabriel argued.

'No! Because I don't know myself! I've never been myself. I always was what my owner wanted me to be. I am still just trying to figure out who I am, what I like, what I want… you coming into all this just fucking confuses the whole thing even more.'

'But you still came back.'

'I had to see you,' Dean answered. It was the truth, he really had to. He couldn't just bury his head in the sand and ignore the ache in his chest that never disappeared after the way he and Gabriel parted ways.

'Maybe you don't know yourself, but I do know you,' Gabriel said again. Dean shook his head with a huff. 'You like peaches, you always kept buying them even thought I hate it and never ate a single one. You drink your coffee with one sugar only and you drink it while it's still scorching hot. You like beer better than wine. You always put on one of your black tight t-shirts when you dressed up for my benefit, but you actually liked wearing your looser clothes more, like that gray tee with that green shirt. You've been obedient, but not because you were a coward, but because you didn't think it was worth standing up for yourself, but the second you had someone else to fight for, all that was gone, like when you took down those two demons to protect those kids. Because you're selfless, you always put others before you despite the life you led, you never lost that. You're observant. You can form a clear picture of anyone if you have the time to take a good look, even if they don't say anything. You hum when you're in a good mood or doing a kind of work that's pleasant or you enjoy, like when you were making food. Your toes are ticklish, but nothing else. You're passionate, there's a fire burning in you that nobody could put out. You just don't give up, no matter how bad it gets, you adjust swiftly and keep going. Your brother is more important to you than anyone else, even if he does annoy you sometimes, but little brothers tend to do that. I know you, Dean. I know you as much as I can without you saying a word abut yourself.'

Dean kept staring at the archangel at the words, not knowing what to say to that. He was surprised. Very surprised. He didn't think Gabriel was paying attention to him, not to this extent.

'I know you, Dean. You're important to me,' the angel continued. 'So just tell me what you want from me. What exactly am I supposed to do?'

'I don't know, I'm not sure… you've already done more for me than anyone ever has. You fucking saved me, gave me my brother back, my freedom… everyone's freedom. It's already more than I have any right to ask for. You've done a lot.'

'Clearly not enough,' Gabriel remarked with a dismissive tone.

'Gabriel.'

'I don't know what you want from me. You don't know what you want from me,' the archangel said. 'Figure it out.' Gabriel took a calming breath. Then added 'But I guess if ten months was not enough time to make up your mind, maybe this is not something you actually want.'

There was a long silence between them after that and Dean tried to think what he could actually answer to that, but his mind was blank and he had nothing to say.

'I think I should go,' he said finally when he took in the tense set of Gabriel's shoulder and his clenched jaw.

'Yeah,' Gabriel agreed.

x-x-x

It was two days after he saw Gabriel when Dean was woken up in his own bed rather violently, when something… someone was suddenly there, right on top of him. Dean jolted vehemently and the only reason he didn't let out a shout was that there was a hand clamped down on his mouth. He was just about to start struggling, when his eyes finally cleared out and the smiling golden eyes only inches away from his face registered in his brain.

He stopped moving and let out a breath, his heart racing, but his body calming down. Seeing this the archangel removed his hand from his mouth.

'Hey, big boy,' he greeted.

'Wha- Gabriel, what are you doing here?' Dean asked. 'How did you even get here? How in the hell do you know where I live?'

Gabriel chuckled quietly.

'Your brother told my brother, and my brother was happy to share it with me.'

'You and Cas getting along again?' Dean asked.

'You could say. Better than in a long while I suppose,' the angel shrugged.

'That's great,' Dean said. 'Okay… what are you doing here?'

'Well, you mean it isn't obvious?' Gabriel asked. Dean frowned up at him, but didn't actually make a move to get him off of him.

'Umm… no?'

'Well, I came to wake you up and take you out for breakfast,' the angel said cheerfully.

'What?' Dean was sure that it was his sleepiness at fault, because this didn't make any sense to him right now.

'Ok,' Gabriel sighed and rolled off from Dean to settle down next to him on the bed. The bed was not something that could be called even remotely big, it was rather small to be honest, so they were still pretty close. 'So I'm here, because I had a very enlightening chat with my little brother yesterday,' Gabriel started. 'As in, the little bastard was driving me up the fucking wall again until he got his way.'

'Cas sent you here?' Dean asked.

'He didn't specifically send me here, but I've been prompted.'

'Ok, why?' Dean asked again. All the tension from the harsh awakening seeped out of his body now and he turned to his side to be able to look at the angel, who was also lying on his side, looking right back at him.

'I get why this is weird for you,' Gabriel said. 'And I also get now that no matter what, this is not something you're going to just simply "figure out" on your own. You've been away for ten months, so giving you time and space is obviously not the right way here.'

'Okay… and?' Dean prompted.

'And since it's me you want to figure out or us… whatever… I think I could help you figure it out.'

'Oh really?'

'Yeah, really… I am the 50% of this whole thing. I have a right to be involved in your whole "figuring out" process.'

'So you want to take me out for breakfast?'

'And coffee,' the angel said. A small surprised laugh bubbled up in Dean at that.

'Okay… and why do you want to take me out for breakfast? I mean, I should know whether I should go or not.'

"You said you didn't know what you are to me,' Gabriel said, sobering up a little. 'I said you were important. You are, because from the very first day, I wanted you. But that was not just it… I also wanted you to want me the way I do. I wanted you to want to kiss me. I wanted you to reach out. I wanted you to want to touch me. When we first met, you were cautious, guarded, maybe even afraid, but I wanted you to like me, because I liked you. So I never forced, never went too fast, I had time to give you, for you to get to like me. So I've been possessive of you, very much so, but I also wanted to make you like me.'

Dean listened silently as he looked at the angel and noticed how also Gabriel's voice quieted down a little.

'And I think you did… like me, I mean, maybe you still do?'

'Yeah, I like you,' Dean answered. He was pretty sure it was true and the answer came quickly and easy enough.

'So I'm taking you out for coffee and breakfast, maybe for dinner some other time, maybe someplace else. Because I'm not going anywhere and I still have time to give you, because this time I want to make you love me.'

Dean's eyes widened a little at the words and he blinked speechlessly for a moment or two.

'Only, this time you can send me away and not see me again,' Gabriel added. 'If that's what you want.'

'You mean you won't ambush me in my own bedroom at the crack of dawn?' Dean asked in a light tone and Gabriel's face smoothed out into a gentler expression.

'Well… I could swear not to do it again, but I think you're enjoying it, so…'

'You're so full of yourself,' Dean laughed.

'It's part of my charm,' Gabriel smirked.

'Yeah-yeah.'

'So… can I take you out for breakfast?' the angel asked again with raised eyebrows. For all intents and purposes, he looked like a hopeful little puppy lying on the bed like this, looking at Dean with his warm amber eyes. He was so freakin' doing it deliberately, Dean just knew.

'Yes, okay, you can take me out for-'

He was cut off by Gabriel's lips on his. He didn't protest. It was first only a long press of lips then Gabriel gently pried open his mouth to deepen it, not pushing in close, but leaving open the chance for Dean to pull back. He didn't, because it felt more than good. It lasted only for a minute or so, and then Gabriel pulled back, resting his head on the pillow again.

'I'm someone better when you're around me than when I'm on my own. So I did care that you left, but it would've been shitty of me to stop you,' he said quietly.

'I didn't actually plan to leave. I just couldn't let my brother go without me.'

'I know,' Gabriel said. They lay there silently for another few moments and Dean was just about to get up and get dressed when Gabriel opened his mouth again.

'Okay, so I was wondering if it would be still okay to have sex during this "figuring out" phase… I mean, that would definitely help the decision making.'

Dean laughed again, the somber tone and the honest conversation just slipping away in a heartbeat.

'Oh, would it now?'

'Yes, absolutely,' Gabriel nodded firmly with a smile playing on his lips. Then he pulled closer a little, practically speaking right into Dean's mouth, his hand running down Dean's back. 'Because I think you would enjoy me bending you over and taking you hard…'

Oh yeah, shit that really did sent a shiver down his spine and a wave of lust through his body. He was kinda hard since he'd just woken up, but this definitely solidified that state. And it sounded way better than anything else, but with Sam in the other room and Gabriel's tendency to make Dean scream, not gonna happen.

'Maybe later,' Dean said finally. 'If you're good.'

'Ohhh,' Gabriel chuckled as Dean rolled away to get up from the bed. 'So you're a tease now.'

'You know it,' Dean smirked in an all-too Gabriel-esqe way that just made the archangel erupt in laughter again. Sam was totally gonna wake up. Dean got up from the bed to get out and to the bathroom, but Gabriel reached after him and grabbed his forearm. It was kinda familiar, to look down onto Gabriel lounging on a bed. But it was different too. This was the big archangel Gabriel, one of the leaders of Heaven lying on his ridiculously small bed in his shitty apartment, asking him to have breakfast with him. Different, a good different.

'We're going to figure this out,' he said. 'Just don't leave again.'

'I won't,' Dean promised and turned his hand to run his fingers up on the inside of Gabriel's wrist as he pulled away. So this was not much less confusing now than it was two days ago, but it no longer felt weird, not really. Dean still had absolutely no idea what the hell this was supposed to be or how it would end, but for now he was ready to jump even if it was into the unknown. If there was anything that deserved a chance, this was it.

And they will figure it all out… in time.

-= THE END =-

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